Unexpected Chances
by DarkDreamer56
Summary: NS Sara's life changes dramatically...who will be there to help her get through it?
1. Default Chapter

Title: Unexpected Chances  
Author: DarkDreamer56  
Archive: If you want it, ask please!  
Rating: PG-13  
Pairing: N/S (what else would I write?)  
Disclaimer: If I owned them, I wouldn't be a poor college student writing fan-fiction…  
Spoilers: None that I can think of

A/N: I decided to write this after reading a bunch of "Sara and Nick sleep together, she ends up pregnant…" stories. I wondered what would happen if circumstances changed a little bit, and this is what resulted. I started this a longgggg time ago, and have just gotten to the point where I want to post it, so consider it AU (post Season 4). There has been no shiftsplit, so Sara and Cath haven't gotten into it (mostly b/c this is one of the first stories I ever started...). Enjoy, and let me know what you think in a review!

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Catherine couldn't help but notice the sounds coming from the stall on the far side of the women's bathroom. She had entered, wanting nothing more than to splash some cold water on her face in an attempt to wake up before she started the second half of a double shift, only to discover someone alternately throwing up and crying in the very last stall. Sighing, she walked over to the stall and knocked lightly on the door.

"Are you okay?" she asked, hoping some bug wasn't going around the lab. All she needed was to take that home and get Lindsey sick.

"I'll be okay," the woman replied, in a voice that sounded very much like Sara's. But Catherine couldn't remember Sara ever being sick, and she sure as hell had never seen her cry. Her motherly instincts kicked in as she began to worry.

"Sara, open the door, you are not okay."

Catherine was surprised that Sara didn't even put up a fight. She heard the toilet flush, and then the stall door swung open, revealing a very pale and tearful co-worker. Sara walked unsteadily to the sinks, turning on the faucet to rinse out her mouth and splash her face. Catherine followed silently, handing her a wad of paper towels and then waited until Sara shut off the water and leaned against the sink before speaking.

"Sara, what's going on?"

Her eyes filled with tears again. "I did something really stupid Cath…I don't know what to do."

"What happened, Sara?" Catherine couldn't hide the concerned look on her face.

"I…I think I'm pregnant."

Catherine felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. That had been the last thing she had been expecting to hear from Sara Sidle. A million questions ran through her mind, but she knew she had to tread very lightly for the next few minutes to get the answers.

"Why do you think you're pregnant?" Receiving a glare from Sara, she clarified. "Okay, well besides opportunity, how do you feel?"

"I've felt pretty run down lately, and I'm always nauseous. At first I thought I just picked up some bug, but then I realized that I'm late," she whispered the last part, refusing to look Catherine in the eye.

"How late?" Catherine asked, praying that maybe Sara was just overreacting.

"Umm…well, I've never been what you would call regular, so when I skipped one month, I didn't really think anything of it. But when it didn't come this month either, I started piecing things together. God, Cath, what am I going to do?" Sara's eyes were shining with unshed tears as she looked up at Catherine, begging her for guidance. Catherine had never seen Sara like this and instinctively reached out to hug her.

"First, you're going to take a pregnancy test; we'll go from there, okay?" Catherine used her mother voice, as she would if it were Lindsey crying in her arms. "Don't worry Sara. You'll get through this. Now there's no point in waiting, I'm going to run down and get one of the kits that Al uses. You stay here, I'll be right back."

Sara started to protest, but Catherine shushed her. "Don't worry; I'll be discrete about it." Though in her head, she knew that inevitably it wouldn't matter. If her suspicions were correct, everyone would find out in a matter of weeks anyways.

Catherine returned a few minutes later with the pregnancy test that she had filched from the coroner's stash in the basement. Sara paced the floor nervously, grabbing the box from Catherine's hand as soon as she was within reach, and rushed into the nearest stall.

Five very anxious minutes later, Sara and Catherine hovered over one of the sinks. Catherine checked her watch every few seconds, while Sara stood with a death grip on the edge of the sink.

"God, how long does this take," Sara groaned.

"Okay, time's up," Catherine called. Sara's face paled again as she looked at Catherine. Catherine squeezed her hand gently in understanding.

"I'll check."

Looking down, Catherine allowed a small smile to play on her lips. Sara had been thrown quite a curveball, but Catherine suspected that she would get through it just fine.

"I'm here to help you through this, Sara."

Sara nodded silently in understanding. Her eyes shone with unshed tears, but Catherine detected something else, bordering between fear and happiness.

"Cath, what am I going to do?" she whispered. "I…I'm not good with kids; how can I be a mother?"

"You won't go through this alone Sara. I'll help you, and I'm sure that the rest of the team will too…Sara?" Catherine paused, unsure of how to phrase the next question. "Who? I mean…"

"No Cath, it's not Grissom's, or anyone else's in this department…he…he's not around anymore. I don't expect him to be a part of this. Oh God, how am I going to tell them?"

Catherine's attempt at reassurance was interrupted by the bathroom door swinging open. Sara hastily wiped away her tears as Catherine shoved the test back into the box and tried to crumple it in her hand. She pasted on a smile and turned to greet the intruder, Sophia Curtis from days.

"Is everything alright?" Sophia inquired.

"Yeah, just tired as hell," Catherine covered. "We're pulling a double, just thought we'd freshen up a little. Come on Sara, the rest of the team should be ready for the briefing by now." Catherine grabbed Sara, who was trying her best to control her emotions, and discretely dropped the box into the trashcan before exiting the bathroom.

"Take a walk, pull yourself together, okay? I'll meet you in the break room in five minutes." Catherine whispered, giving Sara's arm a gentle squeeze before heading towards the briefing.

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Don't forget to review! Please?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: see previous chapter for disclaimer

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Ten minutes later Sara reappeared in the break room. She had walked out to her car, trying to process all of the thoughts running through her head. Finally she had decided there was no way to deal with it at work and still be able to function. She would work the rest of her shift, and then go home, cry, and figure out what she was going to do. All she knew was that it was going to be one hell of a long shift.

She collapsed into a chair next to Nick, gratefully accepting the cup of coffee he set in front of her. She had brought it up to her lips to take a sip before she realized what she was doing. Sighing, she set the cup back on the table and pushed it away. The shift from hell had just become worse. Nick gave her a curious look, but said nothing.

"Hey Sara, is your stomach still bothering you? I made some herbal tea if you want; I don't think I could take another cup of coffee, even if I do need the caffeine," Catherine announced, shooting Sara a knowing look. Sara nodded mutely and let Catherine hand her a steaming mug.

"You're not feeling well Sar?" Nick asked, "Maybe you should go home. I'm sure we can handle it if you're not…"

"No, I'll be fine. Don't worry about it." She flashed him what she hoped appeared to be a sincere smile, but she wasn't sure whether or not he bought it.

"You sure Sara? You seem kinda pale; I think you should get some rest girl…" Warrick chided gently from the couch.

"Really, I'm okay. Now can we get this started?" Sara looked at each one of her co-workers in turn, knowing her glare would deter any further questioning. Thankful that she was right, she sat back in her chair while Grissom began to go over the evidence they had analyzed so far. He was in the middle of giving them the results from the tox screen when a knock came from the doorway. Pausing, they all turned around to see Sophia standing in the doorway.

"What can we do for you Sophia?" Grissom called out.

She smiled at him briefly. "As the Quality Control Officer, I just wanted to remind your team not to use departmental resources for personal benefit." She paused for a moment, regarding both Catherine and Sara. "Though I would like to congratulate the mother-to-be."

Silence descended over the room immediately, as Nick, Warrick, and Grissom looked back and forth between their female colleagues. Sara tried to stay calm, but she couldn't fight the bile rising in her throat. She jumped out of her chair, pushing past Sophia in the doorway, and ran to the ladies room to empty what was left of her stomach contents.

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Like it? Hate it? Want to throw things? I don't care, just say it in a review! 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: see first chapter for disclaimer. It will probably be a few days before the next chapter is up (don't ask, for some odd reason, I have chapters 1-3, and 5-7 finished. I need to segue into chapter five, so it will take a few days to work that out. I hope this tides everyone over until then!)

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Thirty minutes later she was curled up on her couch at home under an old afghan of her grandmother's, surrounded by Kleenex. After she had finished in the ladies room, she rushed out to her car, not even bothering to stop at her locker. She fought back tears the entire drive home, barely making it through her front door before she collapsed sobbing in her living room. It was too much to handle at once, though part of her was relieved that she had been spared the task of telling the rest of the team.

She laughed bitterly to herself through a tear induced headache. What she wouldn't have given to see the reaction on their faces when they realized what had happened. Cynical, lonely Sara Sidle, knocked up by a one night stand. Fresh tears poured from her eyes and she pulled the blanket up over her face, hoping to hide from the rest of the world as long as she could.

"I'm sorry," she moaned, briefly touching her stomach, "You didn't ask to be brought into the world like this, or to have a screwed up mom. I'm so sorry."

Sara closed her eyes and tried to picture herself as a mother. Midnight feedings, strollers, daycare, lullabies. Brief pangs of excitement were quickly overtaken by doubt. She knew nothing about raising a child, let alone raising a child by herself. Would she know what to do when the baby cried? Hell, she had never even changed a diaper.

A loud knock at the door brought Sara out of her reverie. She considered ignoring it, but she knew it was probably Catherine, who would break down the door if she didn't answer. Pushing herself up from the couch, she made her way to the door, preparing to yell at Catherine for knocking so loudly when she had a throbbing headache.

She wasn't expecting to see Nick standing on the other side of the door, holding a grocery bag and wearing a worried expression. She let him step through the doorway, letting his eyes meet her tearstained face and red rimmed eyes briefly before she walked back to the couch. He followed her silently, dropping the bag on the table before sitting down beside her.

"So…a baby, huh?" Nick asked after a few awkward minutes of silence. He winced as soon as the comment left his mouth, but it served its purpose. Sara opened her mouth, but her voice disappeared somewhere in the back of her throat. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she nodded. Nick grasped her hand in his, squeezing it gently.

"I still have to go to the doctor to confirm it, but I took a pregnancy test between shifts…"

"Yeah, Catherine told us." A panicked look crossed Sara's face, and Nick squeezed her hand again. "She didn't want to break your confidence, but Sara…when you ran out of the room…well we're all CSIs for a reason, and we were worried about you. She did bitch Sophia out though, and Grissom threatened to write her up for unprofessional conduct."

They sat in silence for awhile, Nick rubbing gentle circles on the back of her hand with his thumb while trying to figure out what to say.

"Hey Sar, everything will be okay. All of us are going to be here for you; for both of you. Unless…" Nick trailed off, unsure of how to broach the subject.

"Nick, I'm so scared…but I know I have to keep this baby. I couldn't…"

With hormones in overdrive and the stress of the day she had endured, Sara dissolved into a puddle of sobs. Nick wrapped an arm around Sara and drew her to his side, rubbing her arm as he held her close and let her cry.

"Shh," he murmured into her ear, "There's no need to cry, Sar. You are going to be a good mom."

"How do you know that?" she whimpered, letting herself lean against him and bury her head in his side.

"Because I know you. You're Sara, and you're good at everything you do." He got the desired reaction from that statement when he felt her smile against his side. "Well maybe not everything, because the team can't have two of us who are perfect…"

He yelped in surprise at the fingers suddenly digging into his side. "I'm kidding! Ow! Is this how you treat the guy who brings you ice cream?"

Sara lifted her head at his mention of 'ice cream'. Her eyes were shining with tears, but Nick was happy to see the smile still on her face. "You brought me ice cream? Have I ever told you what a good friend you are Nick…"

"That's all I had to do for your appreciation?" he teased, grabbing the bag he had brought in with him, and pulling out a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream. "What if I tell you there's a big bag of mini Snickers to accompany that ice cream?"

Sara's face shone as she watched him open the carton before handing her a spoon and reaching back into the bag for chocolate. She eagerly dove into the ice cream while Nick watched with amusement.

"I think I'm in love," Sara mumbled through a mouthful of mint chocolate chip.

"Glad to see the mood swings haven't started yet. Ow!" Nick received another well deserved jab in the side before Sara returned happily to her ice cream. "I'm going to put the rest of this away before you assault me again."

As Nick stood up, Sara looked at him curiously. "What other stuff?"

"Well, I know that you don't really like milk, so I got you some calcium fortified orange juice, and some oatmeal because you really need to start eating breakfast, and there's some yogurt and saltines in here too…"

"Nick, you didn't have to do that."

He flashed Sara a grin as he put away the groceries. "I know, but I wanted to. You're not in this alone Sara. Catherine is probably going to tell you more than you'll ever want to know, and I've learned a thing or two from my sisters…"

She returned the smile, grateful that she had him to help her through this.

Sara polished off the rest of her ice cream while Nick studied her DVD collection, trying to find a movie that wouldn't send Sara's already emotional state over the edge. He decided on _Empire Records_ and settled onto the couch next to Sara. Twenty minutes into the movie, Sara was curled up with her head in Nick's lap as he absentmindedly played with her hair.

She could feel herself drifting off to sleep when she heard Nick begin to softly speak. She almost opened her eyes before she realized he wasn't talking to her. His hand reached out tentatively to touch her abdomen, resting there for a brief moment. Sara had to suppress a smile as she listened to Nick talk to her stomach.

"Your Mom would kill me if she knew I was doing this," he whispered conspiratorially. "I'm your Uncle Nick, and I'm going to spoil you rotten. There are so many people out here waiting for you. And if you're anything like your mom, we're gonna have our hands full."

Nick let out a deep chuckle, and Sara found it hard to hold back the happy tears she could feel forming in her eyes. Still, Nick kept talking, unaware that she wasn't asleep. "You have an amazing mom. She's going to love you and protect you with everything she has. I know she's scared now, but she'll get past that. The past few weeks, she's had this…gleam in her eye, and I didn't know why. But now I do. She's excited, we all are." Nick's voice took on a mock stern tone, as he continued, "Now, you've got to be nice to your mom for the next couple of months, okay? Try not to make her too sick, or too grouchy. Please, for Uncle Nick?"

Sara felt Nick drop a kiss on her forehead as she smiled to herself and happily drifted off to sleep.

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See that pretty button? Yeah, right down there...you know you want to click it! 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! I've had a huge mental block lately, but I think I've worked most of it out. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to review the first three chapters, as well as all of the lovely reviewers of my other stories. You guys rock, I hope you enjoy!

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"Sara!" Nick yelled, leaning his head back against her couch, "We're going to be late if you don't hurry up."

He heard her mumble something unintelligible from the open doorway to the bathroom, and knowing her mood for the past several hours, he chose not to ask her to repeat it. Grissom had given her the next night off after she had fled the lab, and Nick knew that she was dreading going back and facing the team. He had offered to pick her up, being fairly certain that she would drag everything out to the last possible second and thinking that he could hurry her along. So far, he had failed miserably.

"Come on Sar, it's not going to be that bad. It was only us, and Sophia. Well, Greg kind of knows now too…but that's it. Grissom has already talked to Sophia, and you know everyone else is happy for you…"

Sara appeared in the doorway, toothbrush hanging from her mouth, and wearing a glare that could have killed. Nick rolled his eyes and watched her retreat back into the bathroom. She returned a few minutes later, wiping the corner of her mouth and sinking down onto the couch next to him.

"What is this about Sara? I know you don't want to go back…but I don't know why. Usually we have to drag you kicking and screaming from the lab. What do you think is going to happen?"

Sara sat next to him, silent, wrapping her arms around herself in a comforting gesture. When she didn't speak, Nick placed a hand on her knee and turned to face her.

"Nick, I'm still trying to adjust to this, and I know that everyone is supportive…but I'm just not ready to deal with everyone's questions right now…"

"What questions?"

This time Sara turned to face him. "Come on Nick, I know what the first question is going to be after the shock wears off. Catherine's already asked, it's only a matter of time."

Nick knew the question on his mind, the question on everyone's mind, and he had spent the past day trying not to ask it. They weren't trying to invade her privacy, but Sara's pregnancy had thrown all of them off kilter, and no obvious candidates jumped out.

"Well, did you answer her?"

Sara gave him a quizzical look; that was obviously not the reply she had expected. "Sort of…"

"Well, then you've already answered the question once. It will get easier. And it's not like any of us are going to demand it out of you. You'll answer it when you're ready. Now are you finally ready to go?"

Nick rose and offered her his hand. Sara rolled her eyes, but accepted. "You better not treat me as an invalid through this whole pregnancy, or so help me God…"

"Hey, I know better than to take my life into my own hands…I'll try to keep the hovering to a minimum if you promise to not give me a reason to have to."

The ride to the lab was mostly in silence, save the radio. Nick had finally turned into his parking space and killed the engine, when Sara reached out and placed a hand on his arm. He turned towards her with a questioning look and saw her downcast eyes.

"It's not Grissom's baby," she said softly.

"I know that." Nick clarified when he received an odd look. "I saw the look on his face, and it wasn't the look of a man finding out he was about to be a father."

Sara leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. Nick could see the look of frustration on her face. "It was…I mean, he is…"

Nick interrupted by reaching out and grasping her hand in his. "Sar, you don't have to do this right now…"

"No, you said it will get easier, right?" Nick nodded and squeezed her hand. "One of my old roommates from San Francisco came to visit, and we went to a bar for a couple drinks. We met some guys…and a lot of drinks later, she went home with one, and I…well you can guess…"

Nick wrapped an arm around her as a renegade tear made its way down her cheek. "I had been numb for so long…I just wanted to feel something again, and I thought we were careful." She sniffled and allowed herself to lean against him for a moment before pushing herself upright. Nick pulled her back into a half hug and kissed the top of her head. He knew that she had had a rough time since moving to Vegas, and she had never been able to let go of certain cases. Instead they just ate her up inside, and no matter how much Nick and Warrick had tried to get her to open up to them, they hadn't been able to get through the defenses she had armored herself with

"Things are gonna be okay Sar."

"I know…it's just going to take some time to adjust." She gave him a smile and pushed herself up again.

Nick knew he was probably going to catch hell for what he was about to ask, but there was something he couldn't quite let go of. As Sara started to exit the car, he reached over and pulled the door back. She turned to him with a confused look.

"Are you gonna tell him Sara?"

Nick swore that he saw her jaw drop. "Nick, he probably doesn't even remember me. This is my responsibility, and I'll get through it just fine."

"You don't think he would want to know? If it were me, I'd like to know…"

"But it's not you Nick. Listen, it's just easier this way. Now can we just go in?"

Sara exited the car quickly with Nick following behind her. He could see that she was nervous, and still slightly agitated from their discussion in the car. As they approached the break room, where they could see the rest of the team gathered, her shoulders tensed and she slowed her pace. He reached out to take her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, pleased that she accepted it without wrenching her hand away.

Greg turned to see Nick and Sara just as they reached the doorway and jumped up from the couch. He bounded to the door, wrapping Sara in an enormous hug. Nick watched in amusement as Sara rolled her eyes, but returned the hug with equal fervor. Once Greg relinquished his hold, Warrick stepped up next. Her cheeks reddened, but the smile radiating from her face was genuine. Nick glanced over at Grissom, hoping that this development wouldn't cause any problems with the normally tumultuous relationship shared between Sara and their supervisor. He was pleased to see a grin overtaking Grissom's normal stoic expression and allowed himself to pour a cup of coffee while the team assembled at the table.

Sara gave him a dirty look as he sat down next to her, eyeing his steaming mug of Greg's Blue Hawaiian. She sighed and then pasted a smile on her face as she took a sip of the herbal tea Catherine had set in front of her. Nick knew they were in for hell for the next few weeks; between the mood swings, the caffeine withdrawal, and Sara's sometimes less than sunny disposition, he hoped that they would all make it through unscathed.

Still, even that thought couldn't keep the grin off of his face, knowing in a few months there would be a new addition to the night shift family; one that he was sure would produce major changes.

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What did you think? Let me know in a review! 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: see first chapter

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, you really motivate me to keep going. I'm trying to portray this as accurately as possible, and since I've never been pregnant myself, I've been relying on websites, and what I remember my friend Jenny telling me while she was pregnant. If something seems glaringly wrong, please let me know and I'll try to fix it! Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

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It took Sara two weeks to stop glaring anytime anyone had a cup of coffee within a twenty foot radius of her. It was definitely one of the harder things to deal with, especially since she was used to consuming two or three cups per shift.

Things were beginning to change around the lab, and Sara wasn't quite sure how she felt about it. Grissom began strictly enforcing her work hours, not letting her stay a minute later than her shift officially ended. So far Nick had kept his promise about not hovering, and everyone else seemed to take his lead, but there were still times that the boys slyly left her in the lab while processing a scene they didn't think she should be at. She was grateful for the concern, and knowing that in fairness to the life growing inside of her, she had to concede to some of their concerns, but she refused to let her professional responsibility come into question. She dreaded letting Ecklie, who had recently become lab director, use her pregnancy as a reason to keep her locked away in the lab and out of the field.

She wasn't sure exactly what would happen the first time they all had to pull a double, and honestly, with the way she had been feeling, she wasn't sure she'd make it through two shifts without collapsing from exhaustion. So far, pregnancy had been kind to her in the morning sickness department, but it was more than making up for it in exhaustion. There were days Sara was barely able to drag herself out of bed, let alone shower and get ready for her shift. Consequently, she spent most of her time away from work in bed or lying on her couch.

In fact, that's where she was now, curled up on the couch in a t-shirt and a pair of boxers, trying to find the energy to sit up and reach for the remote. She had been invited to go out with the boys that night, but had told them she had some stuff to get done around the house. She didn't want them to realize how much this baby was kicking her ass already, thinking that if they knew, they'd start the hovering she was dreading.

Sighing, Sara realized she was going to be stuck watching a Danielle Steele movie of the week because there was no way she was getting up to get that remote. A loud bang on her door made her groan in frustration. She considered ignoring it for a minute, and going back to her Lifetime movie hell, but the person on the other side of the door was too persistent for their own good. As she pushed herself up off the couch, she prepared to slaughter whoever was at her front door.

Her death glare settled on Nick, who pushed his way in, balancing a pizza and two dvd cases.

"I decided to bail on Warrick and Greg, thought I could persuade you to play hooky from your chores and watch a movie. I even brought food with me…" Nick trailed off when he noticed the look Sara was giving him. His gaze traveled back and forth between her and the rumpled state of the couch. "Looks like I wasn't interrupting anything. What happened to all that important stuff you had to do?"

Sara wasn't quite sure why, but suddenly she burst into tears, still standing with her front door wide open. Nick looked puzzled, but then set down the boxes and enveloped her into a hug before leading her back to the couch. She collapsed into the seat, curling up into a ball and sniffling.

"I'm sorry Sar…I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry." He furrowed his brow and reached out a hand to stroke her hair, but she batted it away angrily as she continued to cry. Instead, he sighed, and left to close the door and put the pizza in the kitchen.

By the time he came back, Sara had turned herself towards the back of the couch, head buried in the pillow. She was mortified; first at bursting into tears for seemingly no reason, and then for being so mean to Nick when he was only trying to be nice. She felt the cushions bounce as he sat, her knees trapped between him and the couch as he tentatively reached out and rubbed her back. This sweet gesture caused her to start crying all over again, and it was several minutes before she could gather her senses.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Nothing to be sorry about, darlin. You're allowed the occasional out burst, those hormones are working a number on your system. I'm just sorry I made you cry." The soothing tone of his voice reassured Sara, but she still felt bad that he thought it was his fault.

"It wasn't you, Nick," she replied, turning to face him and running a hand over her eyes to wipe away the tears, "It's just…I have so much to do, but I'm just so damn tired all the time. I need to find a house, finish my maternity leave paperwork, I've got a stack of books from Catherine to go through, pregnancy books, name books…I've got to find daycare, and furniture, but all I can do is lay on the damn couch."

Despite her best efforts, she could feel the tears welling up again, but this time she didn't resist when Nick pulled her up and into a hug. "Sar, you've got time for all of this. You don't have to get everything done now, and you've got people to help you when you do have to get this stuff done."

"But what if it's not ready when the baby comes?" she sniffled, leaning against him.

"Sweetheart, if you expect everything to be ready…well it's just not gonna happen. The important stuff will get done, and the rest…well, it'll get there. Not even Sara Sidle can be prepared for everything, and if this kid is anything like you, he or she's gonna make sure of that. Keep you on your toes, like you do with the rest of us."

Sara allowed herself to smile, but she still had doubts. Still, knowing that she had Nick there with her made her feel a little bit stronger. He squeezed her shoulder gently and dropped a kiss onto her temple.

"Why didn't you tell us you were feeling so lousy Sar? Grissom would have given you some time off."

"I can do my job Nick." Sara winced at the harsh tone her voice had taken, but she was so frustrated that everyone thought they had the easy answers. Nick must have sensed this, because Sara noticed a pause before he answered.

"We know you can do your job Sara. And you do a damn fine job at it too. But things are different now. You won't feel like this forever, but you need to take care of yourself. Your first priority should be to yourself and this baby, not to the lab. No one is going to think any less of you if you take some time off."

Sara could feel her resolve slipping as she listened to Nick's logical argument. Plus, the scent of his aftershave had a calming effect on her, so she allowed herself to lean against him and process her thoughts.

"Maybe a week," she finally conceded with a small smile, "But that's it."

Nick chuckled next to her, and dropped another kiss on her head before standing up. "See how you feel. Now, how would you feel about some pizza?"

"Sounds good."

Sara got comfortable on the couch while she listened to Nick rustle around in the kitchen. She spotted the movies just within her reach, and leaned over to check out his selections.

"Hey Nick, I never figured you for a fan of _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_," she teased.

"Well, I figured you'd appreciate that more than _The Ring_," he shot back with a grin as she shuddered. She had gone with Warrick, Nick, Greg, and Catherine to see that movie when it first came out, and Greg and Nick had both complained of indentations from her fingernails for days afterwards.

Nick came back to the couch, balancing two plates full of cheesy, vegetable pizza, a stack of napkins, and two glasses. As he plopped carefully down onto the couch beside Sara, he handed her a plate and set the napkins down on the table in front of them. Sara eyed him warily as he set down a glass of milk in front of her.

"But I don't like milk," she protested, taking a sloppy bite from the first piece.

"I know, but you really need to drink it. Besides, there wasn't much else in that fridge of yours."

"Did you have to pour such a big glass?" she complained and she reached out and choked down the entire glass in almost one chug. When Nick gave her an amused look, she glared. "It has to be ice cold…if it sits, I won't drink it. Happy now?"

Nick just grinned in reply and took a sip of the ice tea he had poured for himself. "Knew I'd have more fun with you tonight."

"So why exactly did you ditch Warrick and Greg?"

Nick swallowed another cheesy bite and downed the rest of his glass before he attempted to answer. "Well, Warrick ditched us first. Something about Catherine needing help fixing her washing machine." Nick rolled his eyes. "Like we would really buy that for a second. Anyways, Greg wanted to go out to some new club, meet some girls, but I just wasn't in the mood for it tonight. So I figured I'd see what you were up to."

Sara tried to conceal a blush as she took another bite of pizza. She wasn't sure exactly why she was so pleased that Nick had chosen her over the chance to pick up some girls at a club, but it was something worth taking some time to mull over once she wasn't so exhausted.

Her mind had wandered, and it wasn't until she heard Nick say, "So what do you think?" that she snapped back to reality.

"Huh? Sorry," she replied sheepishly, hoping that he wouldn't guess why her mind had suddenly taken a detour.

"I'm that captivating, huh?" he teased, "I asked you if you wanted me to come over Sunday after shift. I can bring some breakfast, and the real estate listings. If you're up to it, we can go out for lunch, and maybe grocery shopping."

Sara nodded and set her now empty plate down on the table, before reaching over and giving Nick a big hug. He seemed a bit surprised, but returned the hug fully.

"Thank you," she whispered in his ear.

"For what?"

"For being here…for being you."

Sara could see his cheeks redden as he ducked his head for a moment. When he looked back up at her, he was wearing a cheesy grin. "I am a great guy, aren't I?"

Rolling her eyes, she swatted him on the arm and gestured at one of the dvd cases on the table. "And modest too…"

Nick just chuckled and quickly popped the movie into Sara's DVD player. When he returned, he pulled her feet into his lap while she got comfortable, before covering her with a blanket from the back of the couch. Sara knew she wouldn't make it more than ten minutes into the movie, but she was happy to wake up several hours later, and see Nick still in the same spot, his head leaning against the back of the couch, snoring lightly. She spread the blanket out to cover him as well and drifted back to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: see first chapter

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the past several chapters. This chapter is told half in Sara's POV, and half in Nick's POV. I would have made them two separate chapters, but it's really so short that I didn't see the point. I think it'd delineated enough that it shouldn't cause any confusion, but if it does, let me know and I'll fix it. This next chapter is dedicated to I Want George, who definitely left the funniest (and longest : ) ) review!

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2 months later**_

Sara opened the door to her apartment, welcoming the wafting smell of vegetarian lasagna coming from the kitchen. Her morning sickness had gotten worse, not too long after she finally decided to take some time off work. It seemed for weeks on end, that any aroma sent her running to the nearest bathroom or trashcan. She was so thankful that she had finally entered her second trimester, and the smell of food no longer sent her running to revisit her previous meal.

"So?" Nick asked expectantly, wiping his hands on a towel and tossing it onto the counter.

"So what?" Sara retorted, biting back a grin and carefully lowering herself onto the couch, "And what the hell are you doing in my apartment?"

"Hey, I'm just being nice and making you dinner. Don't want me in here, shouldn't have given me a key. And you didn't answer my question." Sara found him a comical sight, standing in the middle of her kitchen, hands on his hips, with an expectant expression on his face. She threw her head back onto the couch, yawning theatrically. She wasn't quite ready to stop teasing him yet.

"The doctor says I'm right on schedule, everything is normal, the baby is doing great…"

"That's great, really, but you know what I mean." Sara tried to feign confusion, exasperating Nick further. "Which border am I going to be hanging? The flowered one? Or the teddy bears playing baseball?"

"I don't know Nick…" Sara could tell by the expression on his face that she wasn't going to be able to get away with it for much longer.

"Sara…"

"Well, first I need a house that has a nursery that has walls for you to hang this border on. And actually, you won't be hanging either. I'm not really a fan of that flowered border we looked at before. Too cutesy." Sara wrinkled her nose at the remembrance of the samples she and Nick had spent the past weekend looking at. "But I'm sure I'll find something else."

"Come on Sar…oh, wait…girl?" Sara nodded happily, giggling as a grin the size of Texas spread across his face once he realized what she had said. Ever since the initial shock of her pregnancy wore off, Sara had been hardly able to contain her excitement and anticipation, but if it was even possible, Nick was more excited than she was.

"Yes, girl, and she's hungry. How's that lasagna coming?" Anticipating his next question, she reached into her purse and pulled out the sonogram picture, watching in amusement as he rushed over and carefully snatched the picture from her. She didn't miss the soft smile that lit up his face as he examined her first baby picture.

"She's a beauty, just like her mother. And the lasagna's almost done, just a few more minutes in the oven."

Sara rolled her eyes as she felt her face begin to take on a pinkish hue. "Thank you Nick, you didn't have to do this," Sara said seriously, "You've just been spoiling me lately."

"Yeah, but then we would have either been late to the Christmas party, or you would have been complaining all night that you were hungry. And I think you're worth it."

Sara grinned at him sheepishly, and failed to conceal another blush, something that had been happening to her when she was with Nick a lot lately. "Hey! I am eating for two you know, and these holiday parties are always alcohol and hardly vegetarian friendly."

Two hours later Sara had eaten, showered, and dressed. Nick had to suck in a breath when she walked out of her bedroom. She was a vision in a knee length cranberry shift with a neckline deep enough to accentuate her newly developed cleavage. Nick suppressed a smirk; pregnancy had definitely done wonders for her in that department. Along with loose curls spilling over her shoulders, glowing skin, and a gleam in her eyes, Sara was more beautiful than Nick could remember any other woman he knew ever being.

"Wow…Sar, you look amazing," Nick stuttered from the couch, trying to quash the thoughts running through his mind. There was no way he should be thinking about his very beautiful, very pregnant, best friend the way he had been the past several weeks.

A faint blush stained her cheeks as she made her way to the couch, shoes in hand. She began to fasten the straps on her flat sandals with a smile playing across her lips.

"I finally let Catherine take me shopping for maternity clothes. I got tired of trying to squeeze into my old clothes every day."

Nick chuckled at the memory of a phone call he received from a very tearful Sara the first time she wasn't able to zip her favorite pair of jeans. For weeks she refused to acknowledge the fact that she was gaining weight, leading to some very emotional outbursts when Nick or Catherine tried to intervene.

Sara narrowed her eyes at him. "And what's funny about that?"

Aware that he had to tread very carefully in order to avoid bodily injury, Nick paused for a moment to form his answer. "I'm just amused that you were so adamantly against buying maternity clothes, in light of the fact that you look pretty hot in that dress."

The expression on Sara's face softened as she blushed again. She giggled and slapped him playfully on the arm. "Well Stokes, you do know how to make a girl feel good. And I have to say, you look pretty fine yourself in that suit. I may just have to rethink my opinion of office parties that require you to dress up."

"Come on Sar, we're gonna be late if we don't get a move on." Nick flashed her a grin and offered her a hand to help pull herself off the couch. After grabbing his car keys, they were out the door and on their way to the LVPD Crime Lab Christmas party.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: see first chapter

A/N: I never expected such a response for this story. Thank you to everyone who is following along! These next few chapters should whet the appetite for all the Snickers out there. They are also the last of the chapters that have already been written, so it may be a few days before I get the next chapter posted. I'll work on it whenever I have the chance, but the weather is finally sunny and warm, and if you're from anywhere around Cleveland, you know that usually doesn't last long. Still, I'll try to keep my notebook close by. And **bubblecat**, you should get the answer to your question in about two chapters or so!

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By the time they arrived at the office holiday party, a banquet hall at the Tangiers which everyone was surprised Ecklie had sprung for, the party was in full swing. Nick and Sara spotted everyone sitting at a table towards the back, but as they headed over, Sara felt the pressure on her bladder begin to build.

"I'm gonna make a quick detour, okay?" she whispered into his ear before heading off towards the ladies room.

As she emerged from the stall to wash her hands, she found Sophia Curtis in front of the mirror, applying a layer of lipstick. Sara was torn between facing her and trying to sneak out quietly without being noticed, but in the end, hygiene won out, and Sara made her way to the sinks. She was intent on not making eye contact, and instead focused on the look she remembered seeing on Nick's face as she had emerged from her bedroom earlier that night. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn she saw the vaguest hint of desire. Sara wasn't about to delude herself into thinking it was true, but it boosted Sara's self confidence to think that she could have that effect on Nick.

Her distraction worked so well that she was almost to the door before she realized Sophia was calling her name. Sara steeled her gaze and turned to face the woman who had so ungraciously revealed her secret to the rest of the team.

"Did you want something? Because, if you don't mind, Nick is waiting for me," Sara replied coldly after a few seconds of silence.

"I just wanted to apologize, for what I said. I shouldn't have done it in front of your entire shift. It was very unprofessional. I just wanted to let you know that."

Sara was thrown for a second, not expecting an apology from Sophia. She knew her own fault by using department resources, and not wanting to cause an argument, she merely nodded and gave Sophia a small smile before exiting the ladies room.

She was greeted by the team when she got to the table. "Sara, you look lovely this evening," Grissom stated, smiling at her from his place next to Catherine.

"Damn girl, where have you been hiding that dress?" Warrick exclaimed. Greg seconded Warrick's statement as he leaned over to give Sara a kiss on the cheek. She blushed while Catherine rolled her eyes.

"I told you that dress would be a hit, but you didn't want to listen to me…"

"Thank you Cath," Sara replied grinning. "You were right."

"Do my ears deceive me? Sara Sidle admitting that someone else is right? Quick, somebody, mark this down for posterity," Nick joked from behind her. Sara turned at the sound of his voice, beaming up at him while he placed a drink in front of her before settling himself in the chair next to her. The look exchanged between Nick and Sara was not lost on their co-workers.

"So," Greg started, "I believe that Ms. Sara is supposed to supply us with some news today…"

Nick chuckled as Sara feigned innocence again. He found it much funnier now that he knew the information the rest of them were seeking.

"You know, don't you man?" Warrick questioned Nick. "Girl, I thought you were gonna tell us all together."

"What can I say," Sara laughed, "He's very persuasive…plus, he made me food. I had to give in."

"So come on," Greg whined impatiently, "Is it Gregory or Gregarina?"

"Sorry Greggo, there is no way in hell I'm naming my child Gregarina…"

The table beamed back at her. She found their enthusiasm contagious, and soon the boys were all arguing over who would be the best uncle while she, Catherine, and Mia discussed names in between Sara's frequent bathroom breaks. Greg jumped in every once in awhile, still lobbying for 'Gregarina' until Warrick whisked her off to the dance floor.

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Please don't forget to review! 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: see first chapter

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Sara had never expressly intended on hiding her pregnancy from the rest of the crime lab. She merely told the people who needed to know, or who had suspicions already, and decided to let the rest figure it out on their own. Unfortunately Ecklie had to be let in on it, as Assistant Director, so that she could start the paperwork for maternity leave. She had been much happier to tell Brass, though he had been known to call her 'Little Momma,' at a crime scene every so often, causing Vartann and Vega to have their suspicions. Her lab coat and attire mostly hid the curve of her belly, but that seemed to end at the Christmas party that night. Maybe it was the way that Warrick, Greg, and Nick helped her out of her chair every time she got up, or how she had taken to resting her hand on the slight swell of her abdomen subconsciously during conversation, but while she was dancing with Warrick, they were stopped at least ten times by people wishing her congratulations and asking various questions. David was positively beaming as he wished her well, glancing at his new wife with a hopeful smile that neither Warrick nor Sara missed. Doc Robbins cut in on Warrick and offered tips on how to alleviate the swelling in her feet, and Bobby Dawson just grabbed Sara and wrapped her in a big bear hug before apologizing for 'crushin the youngin.' Archie and Jacqui both volunteered to baby-sit, but it wasn't until Hodges came over and snidely wished her well, immediately following with a rude inquiry as to the father, that Warrick and Sara had had enough. Warrick escorted her back to the table before gathering Nick up and heading over to chat with Greg and Archie about some football game.

"So I take it the secrets out?" Catherine inquired as she took a sip of her gin and tonic.

"I'd say so," Sara agreed. "Hey, one less thing to worry about, right? I heard Hodges whispering the other day that I seemed to be getting 'a bit tubby.' Can you believe he had the nerve to ask me who the father was, and whether he's still around?"

"Don't worry about it Sara."

Sara grinned at Catherine. "Oh, it doesn't bother me at all, I'm just amused by what an ass he's being. I know that this child…this little girl," she corrected herself, smiling softly, "is going to be so loved, and she's going to have so many male role models in her life."

Catherine bit her tongue on the subject of the father, and decided to keep the conversation going in a positive direction.

"Wow Sara, I'm really impressed. And you're right. Those boys are going to spoil her rotten. Not to mention Aunt Catherine," she replied chuckling. "You know, when I left today, Lindsey was running around; she couldn't wait to hear whether you were having a boy or a girl. I called her while you were dancing with Warrick, and she was just ecstatic. She's been telling everyone at school that she's going to have a new cousin, and now all the poor kids think my sister is having another baby! But really, she's so excited, all she can talk about is when Aunt Sara will let her baby-sit, or come over and play with the baby."

"So I'm Aunt Sara now, huh?" Sara couldn't wipe the grin off her face.

Catherine laughed again. "Oh yeah. All you had to do was provide her with a real live baby doll, and she'll love you forever…Plus you got me off the hook, she's been asking me for a little sister for years…"

Both women laughed, but Catherine noticed Sara's gaze wander over to where Nick was standing. As soon as she spotted him, an endearing smile crossed her face and Catherine noticed Sara's hand absentmindedly go to her abdomen. Yes, something was definitely going on there…Catherine just wasn't sure the extent of what they would admit to.

"So," Catherine began, trying to figure out the best way to milk information without appearing to do so, "I think that if anyone is more excited about this baby than Linds, or even you, it's got to be Nick."

Sara blushed lightly and giggled. Catherine stored that away mentally. "Yeah, he's been…amazing. He just swept in, making sure that everything goes smoothly, and he does it without making me feel like it's a chore to him. You know, he actually has me believing sometimes that he would rather spend a Friday night with me, eating dinner, giving me a foot rub, and watching TV, than going out to a club with his friends and meeting women."

Somehow, that revelation didn't startle Catherine as much as she thought it should.

"He really cares about you Sar, and I think he's in love with that little girl already," Catherine stated, testing Sara's reaction.

"I know. Sometimes, when he thinks I'm sleeping, he'll start talking to her. I really thought I would hate it, you know, people talking to my stomach, and all that stuff, but I actually think it's cute when he does it. I almost feel bad that I'm listening in; like it's something just between the two of them. But I'm sure there are times he does it when I really am asleep."

Catherine grinned. "That is pretty cute. Okay Sara, spill. What is going on between you two?"

If only Catherine would have had a camera to capture the deer in headlights look that crossed Sara's face. It was a priceless look, but disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Catherine, what are you talking about?"

"Oh cut the crap Sara. I've seen the way he looks at you, we all have. And let me tell you, you look the same way back at him. You two are inseparable most of the time. All he can talk about is Sara and the baby…now I don't know whether or not either of you have admitted it, but there is something there."

"No Cath, you're wrong. He's my friend. My best friend. He's just helping me out. Like you said, he's already in love with this little one, not me." Catherine couldn't help but notice the brief look of disappointment that flickered across Sara's face.

"If you really believe that Sara, than you're not half as smart as people give you credit for." Sara tried to cut her off, but Catherine just plowed ahead, knowing she probably wouldn't get another chance. "Yes, he loves that baby of yours, but that's not all. His face lights up whenever he says your name. He's completely in sync with you, at work and outside of it. He lets you drag him from store to store, picking out baby stuff, and not once have any of us heard him complain. In fact, he actually seems happy to do it. Now, I couldn't even get Eddie to help me like that. Hell, half the time you finish each other's sentences."

Sara sat in silence, unsure of how to counter Catherine's arguments. Part of her didn't even want to try.

"Cath…I…I can't. If I let myself think about that, I see us…as a family, and it's not fair to him. I won't burden him with this."

Catherine argued with her gently. "Sara, that would only work as an argument if he saw 'this' as a burden. You want to know what I think? I think in his mind, he already sees you guys as a family."

"I don't know Cath…"

"I'm just going to say one more thing, then I'll leave the subject alone." Sara rolled her eyes, doubting that would be the case, but let Catherine continue. "Nick is a good man, no doubt about that, but if he just cared about you as a friend, best friend or not, he wouldn't give up his entire life for you. And that's what he's done Sara, whether you realize it or not. You and this baby are his entire life."

The conversation suddenly ended when Warrick and Nick returned to the table. Neither seemed to notice the tension between the two women.

"Cath, you've been sitting at this table all night. Even Grissom has gotten up. Come on, you owe me a dance," Warrick announced, pulling her out of the chair. Catherine shot Sara a pointed look before following him to the dance floor.

"So do you want me to have a chat with dear old Hodges?" Nick asked, sitting back and resting his arm on the back of Sara's chair.

"Huh? Uh, no, it's okay," Sara answered distractedly. She was spending most of her energy trying to force her less than friendly feelings back into the compartment they were usually stored in

Nick looked at her, concerned, and moved his arm to her shoulder. "You feeling okay, Sar?"

She flashed him the best smile she could manufacture. "Yeah, I'm just a little tired…busy day."

"Too tired for one last dance?"

Sara was about to protest and play the "pregnant" card, but when she saw the hopeful look on his face, she smiled back, this time genuinely, and offered him her hand.

Nick led her out to the dance floor as a slow song began to play. Sara allowed him to wrap an arm around her growing waist and she laid her head on his shoulder. As confused as she was about her own feelings, she felt safe and secure in his arms. He was good to her. It wasn't until Nick began tracing light circles over the small of her back and she felt his heart begin to beat faster, that Sara raised her head to look him in the eyes. The look she saw in his eyes startled her, and she suddenly found herself contemplating exactly how much truth could be contained in Catherine's argument.

Both sensed at that moment that something had changed between them, but neither dared to speak until the song had ended.

"Are we okay?" Sara finally whispered, the childlike quality of her voice not lost on Nick. He tightened his grip around her, pulling her into a hug.

"Always."

Sara leaned into the hug, suddenly feeling very tired and confused. "Home?" she requested simply. He nodded and went to gather their things from the table while she found Warrick and Catherine to tell them good night.

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Let me know what you think by reviewing!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: see first chapter

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, but I've been getting over the flu the past couple days. By the timeline I'm following, Sara is at 22 weeks (five and a half months) by this chapter. I'm not exactly sure how this chapter turned out, so let me know what you think about the direction it took. On with the story!

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Four weeks later_

Sara leaned her head against the passenger side window of Nick's Denali, absentmindedly singing along with the radio while Nick drove her home. This was their usual custom: Nick would drive her home, they would have dinner, watch TV or a movie, and Nick would either fall asleep on her couch, or head home for a couple hours of sleep and a shower before returning to pick her up before shift. She found comfort in this routine, but since her conversation with Catherine at the Christmas party, she was unsure of exactly what it meant. The awkwardness had continued between Nick and Sara for a few days, but then they fell back into their old routine, though this time they were each aware of their feelings for the other.

Thinking back, Sara couldn't remember the last night that Nick hadn't spent with her. She knew for a fact that he had declined several invitations from Warrick and Greg to go out for a beer after shift, or to catch a game on his day off. Surely, she couldn't be as good of company as they were, night after night.

She was so lost in her thoughts that it was several minutes before she noticed Nick chuckling at her from the driver's seat.

"What's so funny?" she asked self-consciously.

"Nothing…It's just nice to see what an influence I've had on you." She furrowed her brow and glanced over at him, waiting for him to clarify. "Well, you just sang nearly all the way through 'Suds in the Bucket.' Glad to see I've changed your taste in music so much that you actually know the lyrics." Nick was by no means a stereotypical country boy, listening only to music that twanged, but Sara had noticed, more often than not, that his car radio gravitated to the local country station when they were in the Denali for extended periods of time.

Sara rolled her eyes at the pleased look on Nick's face and turned back to the window, trying to suppress a smile. It was then that she realized he had passed the road they normally turned down to get to her apartment.

"Hey Nick, you missed the turn back there…"

"No I didn't. I want to show you something at my place, you don't mind, do you?"

Sara gave him a confused look, but shook her head. "What's at your place?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," Nick responded with a grin. He saw Sara begin to pout next to him and chortled. "Nope, that's not gonna work on me today. Trust me, I think it's worth it."

Sara pouted the rest of the way to Nick's house, earning her a few chuckles from Nick. Soon they were parked in the driveway, and Nick led her to his front porch before turning around and halting at the door.

"You've gotta close your eyes, Sar."

"Nick, I'm gonna fall on my ass," she protested, crossing her arms in emphasis.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Do you really think I'd let you trip? Now come on Sar, you don't close your eyes, you don't get your present."

Sara squealed, surprising Nick and causing him to laugh. "It's a present? For me?"

"My god, if I had been standing any closer to you, you might have blown out my hearing," Nick teased as he placed his hand over Sara's eyes. When he was satisfied that she would keep her eyes closed, he moved his hand from her face to the small of her back and guided her through the door.

Sara felt him walk her through the living room and stop her at some doorway; either his bedroom or his office. He brought both of his hands up to her shoulders, and Sara felt his hot breath tickle her ear as he whispered, "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

When Sara opened her eyes, she saw the most beautiful glider sitting in the middle of Nick's office. It was an oak, mission style glider, shining lustrously with matching ottoman. Sara opened her mouth to speak, but each time her voice caught somewhere in the back of her throat. Instead she turned around, noticing the expectant look in Nick's eyes. She gave him a watery smile before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close.

"Did I actually render you speechless?" he whispered in her ear, before planting a kiss on the top of her head.

"It's beautiful Nick," she finally managed to get out, drawing her hand across her face in an attempt to wipe away the few tears that had escaped.

"It was supposed to be here in time for Christmas…but that fine Amish craftsmanship can't be rushed by time I guess. I saw the display down in Laughlin, and I thought it would be perfect for you. And it even matches that crib and dresser set we were looking at…"

Sara had already walked over to the glider and was running a hand over the smooth wood of the arm. "Oh Nick, I can't believe you did this…it's gorgeous," she murmured, finally easing herself into the glider to try it out.

"It came with the padding too, but it's still packed away. I got it in beige, that way it shouldn't clash with whatever other stuff you decide on. You really like it?"

Sara just looked up at him and grinned. "Nick, I love it, it's absolutely perfect! Oh!" Sudden movement in her abdomen startled Sara. She had been able to feel the baby move around for about two weeks, but it was still a surprising sensation each time it happened. Both Catherine and her doctor had explained to her how it would feel, but she wasn't quite used to the butterfly sensation against her abdomen. And this time she thought it might finally be enough for someone else to feel. Everyone had been waiting, not so patiently, to feel the first kick. "And I think she likes it too. Nick, come here," she called excitedly.

When Nick just looked at her, she rolled her eyes. "Get over here, don't you want to feel her kick?" Nick's eyes lit up and he knelt next to her, letting her guide his hand to the spot where she had felt the baby's movement. When she had his hand in place, she pressed on it gently with her own.

Sara knew the second he felt her kick, as a huge grin spread across his face. "I think that's her way of saying thank you to her Uncle Nick for this wonderful present."

"Well, this is the present for her mom. She hasn't seen hers yet…"

"Nick, tell me you didn't….this is enough, more than enough really. I can't imagine how much…" Sara was cut off by Nick's finger pressing firming against her lips.

"Don't even Sara. I wanted to do this, and nothing is too good for my girls, okay?" Sara's eyes widened as she nodded mutely, her brain trying to process the full impact of his statement. Her mind was still fuzzy as Nick reached behind the glider and pulled out a small box, and then handed it to Sara. Her head began to clear as she examined the small oak box and its ornate swirls and grooves on the top. Nick turned it over in her hands, bringing her attention to the fact that it was a music box. He wound it a few times, and then Sara turned it back over and opened the lid. Strains of _Somewhere Over the Rainbow_ filled the room.

"I thought you could put it in her room, and play it for her sometimes, and then when she gets older, she can use it to put, well…I guess whatever girls put in music boxes."

Sara watched as Nick placed his hand on her abdomen again, noticing the hopeful look on his face that she would kick again. She couldn't help the tears that began to stream down her cheeks, and she tried to wipe them away before Nick noticed. Unfortunately for her, he chose that moment to look up at her and grin. His happiness turned to concern and he took the music box from her hands, setting it on the floor next to him, and enveloped her in a hug. This only caused her to sob.

"Sar, what's wrong?"

She looked up at him for a moment, sniffling, before dissolving into tears again. "Nick, you're just so good to me…to both of us. You're wonderful…"

Nick rubbed circles on her back giving her a confused look. "And that's a bad thing?"

"No," she hiccupped, "but…I don't know what's going on anymore. Everything has been turned upside down these past few months."

"Sar, you're having a baby, yeah, it's gonna change your life…"

"I'm not just talking about the baby Nick," she snapped back, pulling away from him. Nick sighed and sat back on his heels, running his hand over his head in frustration.

"Sara, what's confusing you so much?"

She could see the hurt and worry in his eyes, and Sara took a deep breath, afraid that she was just about to ruin everything between them. She paused for a moment, wondering if she should just blame hormones and get out of the situation, but Nick probably wouldn't buy it, and in the long run, she needed to know.

"Why are you so good to me Nick? Why?"

That earned Sara another confused expression, though she noticed the tiniest bit of panic flash across his face first. "Sara, you're my friend, I care about you…"

"Warrick and Greg are my friends too, but they don't spend their time helping me pick out baby furniture, or rubbing my feet. They aren't giving up their social life to stay at home and watch movies with me. That's not it Nick, and you know it. Why won't you tell me?"

Nick leaned forward, reaching out tentatively to grasp her hand. He looked up into her eyes, and she saw the fear being reflected from her own eyes, and a hint of sadness. "Because I don't think you're ready to hear it yet."

"Nick," she sniffled, but he cut her off with a weak smile and a squeeze of her hand.

"No, Sar, it's okay. I know you're scared and confused, and your hormones are on overdrive, and the last thing I want to do is give you any more stress, okay? I can wait, I'm not going anywhere…" To emphasize his point, Nick embraced her again, stroking her hair as she sniffled into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, wiping away the last of her tears.

"Nothin to be sorry about, darlin. Besides, I know you'll come around…no girl can resist the old Stokes charm."

Nick grinned at her, and Sara could feel a smile tugging at her own lips. His smile was sincere, and though she could still see the pain in his eyes, she knew he understood her hesitation. In an uncharacteristic move, Sara leaned towards him and planted a soft kiss on his cheek, before trying to push herself up out of the chair. Her sense of balance was beginning to change, and it usually took her a few tries to get up. Nick offered her his hand, and she entwined her fingers with his as they walked towards the door.

"You want to pick up some Chinese on the way to your place?" Nick queried as he locked the door to his house. Sara nodded and started towards the car. Part way there, something occurred to her, and she turned back to seem him grabbing the mail from his mailbox.

"Nick?" she called out, walking back towards him. He turned around, waiting for her to finish. "I just want you to know…I really appreciate everything you've done for me…" She paused for a moment, gathering the courage to finish. "I'm confused…these feelings…I don't know what to do about them." She knew he understood, but she couldn't help but try to explain, especially since he was being so great about the situation.

Nick quickly caught up with her, lacing their arms together as he propelled her carefully towards the car. "Sar, you don't have to say anything until you're ready. Like I said, I'm not going anywhere, okay?" Sara nodded, allowing him to open the passenger door and offer her a hand as she climbed into the car. "Now, how about that Chinese…"

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Let me know what you think of this chapter by reviewing! 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: see first chapter

A/N: First off, to Astralis and Claire: I'm sorry! A glider is pretty much a rocking chair, but they are a little bit boxier, and usually have an ottoman/foot rest thing with them. Much more comfortable I think. I looked at a lot of them while my friend was trying to pick out her baby shower registry…

And for some reason, I just have the image of Astralis sitting there, going, "Why the hell is she writing about Nick buying Sara an airplane?" I don't know, it made me giggle, but that could be the allergy meds as well.

And lastly, I'm so sorry for the lack of updates on this lately. I don't really have a good reason, except that for awhile there, the one shots floating around in my brain kind of took over, and made it hard to work on this fic. But now I'm back in the groove, and since I'm on vacation starting the 5th, I anticipate this being updated fairly regularly. Enjoy!

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Sara looked around at all the boxes surrounding her and groaned in frustration. The complications surrounding her relationship with Nick had taken a backseat the past few weeks while she had desperately been house hunting. She had wanted to be moved and settled well before her third trimester began, but she had only made the moving deadline by a week. And the fact that she was sitting in the middle of her new living room, surrounded by boxes, while her friends were moving other boxes from room to room, told her that she was nowhere close to being settled.

The house was nice, three bedrooms, with big backyard and sun porch. It was a short drive to the lab, as well as near the daycare that Sara had been looking at. And it didn't hurt that she was only a few streets away from Nick. While Nick understood the stress Sara was under, she knew it was only a matter of time before she would have to deal with her feelings about him. Still, the fact that she was close by him was comforting, even though he was spending most of his free time helping her get the house ready. In fact, right now, he was with Warrick and Greg, trying to wrestle her bed and chest of drawers into her new bedroom. While she was happy to let them deal with the heavy stuff, she was frustrated that no one would let her lift anything heavier than a pile of towels. She wondered how on earth she was going to get unpacked and ready for this child if she couldn't even unpack her own kitchen

Sighing, Sara opened another box, hoping to find something light enough that she could start on herself. Happily, she found a box of kitchen stuff. She was contemplating kicking it across the floor to the kitchen when Catherine settled down next to her.

"What are you thinking about doing?" Catherine asked, opening a bottle of water and taking a swig before offering some to Sara.

Sara smiled sheepishly at being caught. "I just feel so useless…they won't let me do anything."

"So you figured if you kicked the box into the kitchen, you could put it away? You know, you could've just asked…"

"Yeah, and then Warrick would have told me I was pushing myself too hard, and Nick would have said that there would be too much reaching involved, and Greg would have just grabbed the box and put it away himself…they're driving me crazy Cath."

Catherine chuckled. "And you're driving them crazy too."

"Hey, it's my stuff, and I'm a little particular about where it goes." Sara noticed the look that crossed Catherine's face, clearly saying _no kidding_, and glared appropriately. "Remind me never to move while I'm pregnant again…" Sara grumbled.

"So noted. Alright…how about this?" Catherine paused for a moment and sighed. "I'm gonna move this box into the kitchen, and then I'm going to pick up some food for the boys. While I'm gone, you can put away that box, and when I get back, you and I are going to get out of here for awhile. We can get some lunch, and grab whatever else you need to get settled."

There was no room in Catherine's voice for negotiation, so Sara nodded in resignation. Hopefully, everyone would leave in a few hours, and then she could get started moving around the stuff she could. As she followed Catherine into the kitchen, she began a mental checklist of things she needed to get done, as well as what she had to look for when they went shopping.

Nick, Greg, and Warrick had spent their days off painting what was to be the baby's room, as well as her own room, and the bathroom, but there was still a lot to be done. She didn't have anything set up in the baby's room, and they were just getting the furniture into her room now. She still had to put away all the clothes, toiletries, and random knickknacks. Most of the furniture for the rest of the house was in place, but there was still a massive bookshelf that had to be put together, and a good four cartons of books that went with it. Plus, the extra bedroom, that she hoped eventually to use as a playroom, had quickly become the cast off room for whatever boxes that the guys couldn't place; at this point she was exactly sure what they had thrown in there.

Sara sighed as she opened a drawer and placed the utensil divider in it. There was so much to do, and not much that she could get away with doing herself. Tonight, she would have to content herself with getting her clothes put away, and maybe getting the kitchen in order.

By the time Sara finished getting the box put away, Catherine returned as promised, and whisked her out the door before she could even call out to the guys that they were leaving. After stopping for a bite to eat at a Mexican restaurant around the corner from Sara's new house, Catherine pulled into the parking lot of a local retail store.

"So, do you know what you need?" Catherine asked as she grabbed a cart from the carrel near the door.

"Kind of…well, at least what I need right now. I can't even think about baby shopping right now. I haven't done much yet, because I didn't want to have to figure out how to store everything before I moved."

Catherine nodded and pointed the cart towards linens, the department closest to the entrance. "You'll have time for that later, why don't we just get what you need for now, we can go to the mall for the baby stuff once you get settled."

Usually Sara hated shopping, zipping in and out of a store as fast as humanly possible, but she was so frustrated with trying to unpack, that she actually found herself happy to be out of the house. So instead, she and Catherine leisurely strolled up and down each of the aisles, randomly grabbing things that Sara needed. Catherine didn't seem to complain, so Sara kept with this low key approach.

"You should get some more towels, and maybe some new sheets," Catherine suggested.

"The ones I have now are fine."

"When was the last time you bought either?"

Sara paused to think for a moment, making Catherine's point for her. "Exactly. Trust me, I always buy new ones when I move. You just feel so much better."

Sara rolled her eyes, but paused to examine the sheet sets. She finally settled on a blue set that would match the comforter she already had at home, and then moved on to pick out some towels.

"I think I need a bigger trashcan for the kitchen too, and a few of the small rugs for the doorways and stuff. And I guess I need some more storage containers."

They made idle chitchat as they perused the aisles, adding more to the cart as time went by.

"You know, I don't think half the stuff in this cart is actually stuff you came in here to buy," Catherine commented with a smile.

Sara regarded the cart for a moment and grinned. "Yeah, I guess there is something to be said for impulse buying. A lot of it is stuff I would have needed eventually though. And I have more room to fill up now."

Sara was debating whether she really needed to buy another dish drainer and sponge set when Catherine's next question stopped her in her tracks.

"So how are things going with Nick?"

It took Sara a moment to recover before she squeaked out, "Things are good."

Sara didn't even have to turn around to know that Catherine was rolling her eyes. "I'm sure there's more to it than that."

Sara shrugged, intently studying the various colors of dish drainers in front of her. "It's kind of complicated."

Catherine snorted. "What's complicated about it? You're in love with each other…" Sara chose to ignore Catherine, turning her attention to the clean tiled floor of the store. "Well, at least that's progress. A couple weeks ago, you wouldn't even admit it," Catherine commented, when several seconds passed and Sara didn't refute her observation.

"We've talked about it…indirectly."

"How do you talk about it without admitting you're in love with each other?" Catherine asked incredulously.

Sara sighed in frustration as she threw a white dish drainer into the cart and headed for the next aisle. "He doesn't think I'm ready to hear it…I don't think I'm ready for him to say it."

Catherine followed behind. "Why do you think that is?" She tried to keep her tone light, devoid of any hint of accusation.

Sara sighed again. "I need to be absolutely sure where this is going. It isn't just my life anymore Catherine. A relationship with a coworker is risky as it is…and there's a little girl involved here. What if it doesn't work out? She's going to get attached to him. And he's already attached to her. What if he wants to leave, but he won't, because of the baby. I don't want him to be miserable because of me." She refused to let herself cry while standing in the middle of the Housewares department of Target, but tears were welling dangerously close to the surface. Still, finally giving a voice to the concerns that had been running through her mind for weeks, lifted a little of the weight that had been weighing on her shoulders.

"From what you've said…you're afraid of him leaving you, you didn't say anything about you leaving him. Doesn't that tell you something about how you feel? You have to trust him Sara…Nick would never intentionally hurt you."

"I trust Nick…I don't trust myself not to screw it up. Catherine, I've never had a successful relationship in my life…who's to say this would be any different?"

Catherine chose her next words carefully, aware that the situation was close to getting out of control. "Sara, I've known Nick for a long time, so I'm gonna let you in on a few things. First of all, Nick values his relationship with you, friendship or otherwise, above practically everything else. I think that the fact that he's even alluded to his feelings for you means that he sees a future with you. If he didn't, he wouldn't risk messing up the relationship you have now. And I've seen a lot of the other girls that Nick has been interested in, or even dated…how he's acted around them, how he's talked about them, and I have to say, I think for him…you're forever. You just have to be willing to take the risk."

Sara slowly let Catherine's words wash over her. She wanted so badly to believe them, to take them in without question, but doubts still lingered in her mind.

"Just think about it, okay? Things are going to get hectic pretty soon, and I don't think you want this hanging over you when you go into labor…"

"Going to get hectic?" Sara laughed, wiping away a stray tear. "So these past few months have been training for what then?"

Catherine laughed as she turned the cart around. "I don't know if I should tell you, since it's too late to back out now. Why don't we head for the checkouts before we bankrupt you?"

A half hour later, they pulled into Sara's driveway, the back of Catherine's Denali filled to the brim with Sara's purchases. Catherine had wisely dropped the subject of Sara and Nick, and the conversation on the way home was decidedly lighter.

"I'll grab the bags, why don't you tell the guys that we're back. And send Greg or someone out to help me." Catherine headed towards the back of her Denali as Sara entered the front door. Checking her watch, she realized that they had been gone for several hours, and the silence in the house made her wonder if anyone was still there. She called out several times before heading back towards her bedroom. Maybe they hadn't heard her. She found her bedroom empty, but she noted with a smile that all of the furniture was in place, right where she had asked for it to be, and someone had even started to hang the clothes in her closet. She tried the baby's room next.

"Surprise," Nick called out quietly with a grin as Sara stood in the doorway, mouth hanging open. Behind him, Warrick, Greg, Lindsey, and Grissom beamed back at her.

"I thought I was going to have to slow you down when we were shopping, but luckily you didn't seem to be in that much of a hurry," Catherine teased as she came walking down the hall.

Sara looked around the room in disbelief. The border had been hung. All of the furniture was set up and in place, even the glider that Nick had given her. The crib was already made up, the sheets matching the nursery theme that Sara had finally decided on. A few stuffed animals sat in the crib, alongside a big basket wrapped with a pink bow. Pink curtains adorned the window across from the crib, complementing the light yellow walls, and even the mobile had been set up. It took a few seconds for Sara to register the stroller with matching car seat sitting in the corner, along with a box containing what

Sara had learned early from her online research was a necessity, a pack-n-play.

Tears welled in her eyes. "How did you…when did you?"

"We got it done while Cath took you shopping," Greg replied, stepping from behind Nick and leading her around the room.

"But this must have taken forever…how did you get it done?"

"We had help," Warrick admitted. "When you guys left, Mia, Archie, and David came over. It didn't take too long, and we got the kitchen all unpacked for you too."

"I figured you wouldn't really enjoy the traditional baby shower, so this seemed like a better idea," Catherine added, looking around the room to admire their work.

"Plus, she informed us that we wouldn't have been invited anyway." Grissom smirked in Catherine's direction.

Lindsey giggled and ran over to Sara, wrapping her arms around her waist. "I put the sheets on the crib, and I put some of the clothes away in the drawers…"

"Thank you Linds," Sara replied with a smile. "Wait…what clothes?"

Greg answered. "Well, this is your lab baby shower…you didn't expect not to get anything out of it, did you? We collected all the stuff, and stored it at Catherine's. Gris and Lindsey brought it over once you guys left. Don't worry, we left all the cards and stuff, and Lindsey wrote down who gave you what, but we figured we'd put some of it away for you."

"There are diapers and stuff in the drawer to the changing table already. And we put the baby wash, and shampoo, and all that stuff in the bathroom with the baby tub," Lindsey chattered on as she grabbed Sara's hand and dragged her towards the bathroom.

When they returned after Lindsey pointed out all of the things they had put away, Sara was still in shock. The room was beautiful. She'd picked out the theme, and purchased the furniture, but she hadn't gotten around to getting all the pieces that she needed; apparently her friends had taken care of that. She didn't want anything too cutesy or girly, but when she saw the pink gingham and teal set decorated with smiley flowers and bugs, she hadn't been able to resist. There was more pink than she originally thought she would be able to stand, but somehow the pastel teal trim on the blankets and curtains, as well as the purple, orange, and yellow of the bugs and flowers, off set it in such a way so that it wasn't overwhelmingly pink. Nick had teased her about the choice when she showed him the collection online, seeing it as much more girly than what he thought that she would have picked out, but she pointed out that the sheets were teal, and if they painted the room yellow, that they should counterbalance the cutesy effect.

"You guys…this is amazing. It's perfect, thank you." Sara could feel herself choking up as she gazed around the room again. Later, she would realize exactly how detailed everyone had been, but for now, she would just enjoy the overall beauty of what they had done. The group crowded around her, each hugging her in turn, but it wasn't until Grissom and Lindsey went with Catherine to bring in the rest of the bags that Sara noticed Nick standing off in the corner, staring out the window. He had been quiet the whole time, so she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Thank you," she whispered quietly, inhaling deeply, suddenly needing the smell of his aftershave to wash over her.

"I wasn't sure exactly how you wanted the room set up, so I guessed," he admitted, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and rubbing her back with the other. She could hear the exhaustion in his voice as she realized just how hard he had been working in order to make things easy for her. Catherine's words echoed in her mind. "We can move it around later if you don't like it…"

"No Nick, it's perfect, just how I would have set it up…you know me pretty well."

"I guess I do." Nick sighed, making circular motions with his hand against her lower back. He really sounded tired, and Sara felt pangs of guilt for giving him such a hard time the past few days. "Why don't I show you how we set up your room?" Nick sighed again and moved to let go of her, but Sara stopped him. She found herself not ready to lose physical contact with him just yet.

"Stay here with me for a minute?"

Nick nodded and gave her a lopsided grin as he wrapped his arms around her again. He tightened his hold around her, and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "How was shopping with Catherine?"

Sara smiled softly against his chest; if only he knew. "Pretty enlightening actually."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: see first chapter

A/N: Well, apparently it seems like the updates won't be coming quite as fast as I anticipated, (something about HR forgetting to enter my vacation into the system, so now I've got to wait until the other people in my department get back from their vacations in a couple weeks. Not that I'm bitter, or angry, or anything like that…grrrr) but I'm going to do my best to finish this story up soon. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, you've really pushed me to finish this story. Enjoy!

_Two weeks later:_

Sara look nervously around the room, making sure that everything was in place. It had taken awhile, but with the help of her friends, Sara had finally gotten settled into her new house. The time she spent folding towels and arranging knick knacks gave her time to really think about her conversation with Catherine. And the more she thought about it, the more that she started to believe that Catherine could be right.

Nick had never done anything to hurt her; Sara didn't even think he had that kind of capability in him. He had been nothing but supportive since she found out she was pregnant, and his admission that he had feelings for her, indirectly as it had been, gave her the confidence she needed that she was doing the right thing. Sara had decided that she was ready to take the next step, and see where things were going between them. Catherine's observation that Nick seemed completely serious about her had made the decision easier, but she still found herself smoothing down the blanket on top of the couch in a nervous gesture, waiting for Nick to arrive.

She had the night off, so she had invited Nick over for dinner before his shift started. Not that it was much different than most nights, Sara realized with a smirk, just this time she would actually be making something to eat, instead of ordering take out or heating up something frozen. She'd spent all afternoon cleaning as much as she could, and working on a homemade spaghetti sauce she'd seen one of the chefs make on the Food Network.

She'd decided to keep it casual, opting to forego candles and music, though she did concede to breaking out one of her nicer tablecloths, and she had lit some candles earlier to bathe the house in a cherry vanilla scent. Dressing up would have seemed out of place, so instead she had picked a pair of jeans and a navy blue v-neck shirt; at this point in her pregnancy, comfort often won out over style, but she figured Nick would at least appreciate the nice view of cleavage provided. She'd often caught him staring at her chest at work, or while they were spending time together, and she couldn't help but laugh at how horrible he was at disguising it.

"Hmmm, whatever it is, it smells good," Nick called out from the foyer, and snapping Sara back to reality. Butterflies swam in her stomach, and this time she knew it wasn't the baby causing them.

Nick appeared seconds later, shrugging off his jacket and shooting Sara a smile. Suddenly, she wasn't as nervous as she had been all day; for some reason, she just knew that things would be okay. One look into Nick's eyes showed her how much he adored her, and that warmed her to the core and banished all the butterflies.

He dropped down next to her on the couch and yawned. "I'm half tempted to call in tonight, but I think Gris would kill me…"

"Did you get any sleep?" Sara felt a little guilty, Nick had spent the morning after their shift helping her finally get the bookshelf in order and sort through the boxes in the spare room, and then he'd had to get up earlier to come and eat dinner with her.

"Yeah, I got some. I just couldn't fall asleep right away," he admitted quietly, "But I'll live, though I'd rather spend the night off with you…" He gave her a quick smile, leaning his back against the couch and closing his eyes.

"Well, why don't you stay here, take a nap, and I'll wake you when dinner's ready. It shouldn't be too much longer."

"No, it's okay," Nick answered, rubbing his eyes, "I can help."

"Nicholas Stokes," Sara replied sternly, pushing him back onto the couch, "you're going to stay right here."

Nick chuckled, but nodded his head. Sara knew that she could still scare him with the power of her glare if need be; it worked with the rest of the team as well, and she liked having that kind of control at times.

"Well, at least let me help you up, or else it could be days before I get dinner."

Sara rolled her eyes. "I am perfectly capable of getting up on my own." To prove her point, she braced herself on the arm of the couch and pushed upwards. Unfortunately, she only got partway up before her balance faltered and she fell back.

"Darlin, that's just not true." Nick stood up and held his hand out to Sara, who grudgingly took it and used it as leverage to rise from the couch.

Twenty minutes later, Sara had lifted everything from the stove and assembled two heaping plates of linguine and sauce, as well as cut the large loaf of garlic bread. After placing everything onto the table, she went to get Nick, smiling when she found him stretched out on the couch, snoring lightly.

Careful not to topple herself, Sara leaned down and tousled his hair a little. "Dinner's ready."

Nick sighed, and opened his eyes, blinking a few times. He ran a sleepy hand across his face and slowly sat up. Sara couldn't help but smile at the adorable picture in front of her, a sleepy Nick Stokes waking up on her couch. Hopefully, after tonight, she'd have the chance to watch him wake up every night, and in some place other than her living room.

Dinner was quiet; Sara was still trying to find the right moment to bring up the subject. She figured that Nick's silence stemmed from still being tired and knowing the long shift he had ahead of him. It didn't seem to affect his appetite, however; Nick had already nearly devoured everything on the plate in front of him.

By the time that Sara finally finished her plate, Nick whisked away the plate and glass from in front of her.

"That was really good Sar, thanks. I'll get these."

Sara shook her head. "Nah, I'll get them later. You can just put them in the sink. We can watch tv or something until you have to go." She smiled up at him as he helped her out of the chair and propelled her gently towards the couch.

He joined her a few minutes later, settling down next to Sara on the couch. She surprised him by snuggling into his side and sighing in contentment.

"What's this about?" he asked, throwing an arm around her and slyly grabbing the remote out of her hand.

"Does there have to be a reason? No…we're not watching _PTI_…"

Nick flipped through the channels, finally settling on a _Law and Order_ episode. Sara spent the first half of the episode trying to work up the courage to broach the subject of their relationship. At the commercial break, she finally gathered the resolve, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, Nick beat her to it.

"Hey Sar…there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

Sara tried to bite back the grin that was threatening to overtake her entire face. "Really? I've got something I want to tell you too…but you first."

"I know we've talked about it before, and you weren't exactly receptive to the idea, but…" Nick took a deep breath, and Sara wondered if maybe she wouldn't be the one to start the discussion. "I've been thinking about it, and I really think that you need to tell him. The father I mean. I think he deserves to know."

And that was that. Sara's face fell, and she stiffened beside him as the words hurriedly tumbled from his lips. It was definitely not was she was expecting, and not what she wanted to hear right before she was going to profess her love for him.

She pulled away from him as gracefully as she could, and settled on the other side of the couch.

"I knew you weren't going to like it, but I had to say it. If it were me, I'd want to know. I'd want to be a part of her life…"

"Well, I think we've determined that it's not you Nick," Sara interrupted tersely. "I have my reasons, and the more I think about it, the more I realize it's really none of your business."

From the look on Nick's face, Sara realized her words were akin to slapping him across the face. He sighed and rubbed his hand over his head in frustration. "Look, I better get to work, before either of us says something else that we're going to regret tomorrow, okay? Can you tell me what you wanted to tomorrow? I'll pick you up for shift?"

"I have a doctor's appointment, and then Catherine and I are going baby shopping," she whispered, trying to hold back her tears. Nick stood up from the couch and grabbed his jacket.

"Then I'll see you at work tomorrow."

As Sara heard the door close behind him, she choked on a sob before completely breaking down on the couch.

A/N: I'm evil, I know. But I promise everyone will get their wish soon, so don't start throwing things yet (I'm looking at you, Claire : ) ).


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: see first chapter

A/N: Okay, I've really been torn about how to write this chapter. I can see both sides of the argument, but as I sat down and actually worked on the chapter, this was the character that came out. Then the interaction kind of wrote itself. I can only hope that the resulting chapter is in character, and that everyone enjoys. Let me know what you think by reviewing!

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Sara was miserable for the next two weeks. Ever since the night Nick had come over for dinner, things had been tense between them. They still spent time together, but it was strained, and Nick often left much earlier than he had been over the past months. Car rides had become awkward, punctuated only by silence or the blaring radio.

Sara was also unhappy to learn, only two nights after her fight with Nick, that Grissom had decided she was to be confined to lab work for the duration of her pregnancy. To say the least, Sara was not happy with this development, and her mood over the past weeks had reflected it accordingly. There was no one in the lab that had not been subjected to Sara's wrath, though most attributed it to last trimester frustration.

So now Sara was holed up in a corner of the break room, going over the never ending stack of case files in front of her. It appeared that when Grissom told her "confined to lab work," he really meant, "paperwork bitch." She'd noticed first, reports that had been on Grissom's desk for weeks were finding their way in between labs that needed signed off on and cold case files that needed to be reviewed, but now Sara was certain that she was doing all of Grissom's paperwork; yet another thing that pissed her off.

"Hey, does anyone have a minute to do me a favor?" Catherine called from the break room door, drawing the attention of both Sara and Greg, who was starting a pot of coffee. "I need these reports dropped off at PD, but Warrick needs my help out at a scene, and if I don't leave now, I'm gonna get stuck in traffic."

"I'll do it," Sara announced eagerly, pouncing on the chance to get out of the lab for even a little bit.

"Thanks Sar, I owe you one. Oh, these are going to Vartann." Catherine set the reports down on the table and hurried out to the car.

It took Sara awhile to get everything put away and get up from the table, much to Greg's amusement.

"Want some help there Sara?" Greg asked, offering her a hand. Sara rolled her eyes, but accepted his outstretched hand. Once she got up from the table, he gathered the files she had been working on and offered to take them back to Grissom's office for her while she went to PD.

Sara made the short drive over to the Las Vegas Police Department, pleasantly surprised to find a parking space close to the entrance. As she made her way up the walkway, Brass came barreling out the door. His face lit up when he noticed her.

"Hey sweetheart, Grissom finally let ya outta the lab?"

"Catherine," she corrected with a smile, "she asked me to run something over. Gris is still keeping me buried in paperwork."

Brass took her arm and turned around to escort her into the building, chuckling the whole time. "Between you and me, I think he's worried you'll go into labor if he gives you anything more strenuous to do. He knows a hell of a lot more about bugs than babies. And…" he lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "I think Warrick and Nick put him up to it. But don't tell them I was the one that ratted them out."

"Well, I don't think I'm going to be going into labor anytime soon," Sara answered, sighing, "I feel like I'm going to be pregnant forever."

"She'll make her appearance when she's good and ready. And you let me know if you need anything in the mean time. I've got a meeting with the sheriff, so I'm gonna head out, but call me if you need anything, alright?" Sara nodded as Brass kissed her cheek and headed back out towards his car.

She made her way down the hallway slowly, savoring the feeling of doing something else besides filling out massive amounts of paperwork. She found Vartann coming out of an interrogation room, handed him the folders, and made idle chit chat until her bladder decided to make its presence known.

As she emerged from the rest room, feeling much better now that the pressure on her bladder was relieved, she didn't notice the person coming down the hall until he nearly ran into her.

"Sorry," the man mumbled, after quickly stepping out of the way. "I wasn't watching where I was going. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm…" A panicked looked crossed Sara's face when she looked up and saw who she had nearly run into. She recovered quickly though, and prayed that he didn't recognize her. "I'm fine," she choked out.

His eyes widened with recognition, and he nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Hey, Sara…how are you doing?"

She plastered a grin on her face, and hoped he didn't look down. "Hi Michael. I'm…I'm great. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. Wow…I guess you are doing well." He laughed nervously. "How long…I mean, when are you?"

Sara thought quickly. "Oh, eight and a half months. I'm due any day now." Never before had she been so glad that she looked much further along than she actually was. She watched the panic flash through his eyes as he mentally counted back, and then the huge relief that passed over his face.

Sara didn't miss the, "Oh, thank God," that passed over his lips in a tiny whisper as he realized that given the timeline Sara had given him, she was pregnant before that night. Though she didn't want him to have any involvement, she still took that as a slap in the face. Her expression darkened, and she moved to pass him, but was stopped by his hand on her arm.

"I'm sorry Sara, it's just…this wouldn't be the best time, if you were…I mean, if it was…but it's okay, right? I mean, you've probably got a great guy in your life, and you guys are really happy about this baby."

Sara could feel her eyes well up, as she was able to tell him the truth for the first time since their conversation started. "Yeah, I'm really lucky…he's great."

"Does he know you're down here? Is everything okay?"

It took Sara a second to process his question. "Oh, yeah, everything's fine. I work here; well, indirectly at least."

Michael's brow furrowed. "Here? I thought you said you were…" he grappled for an answer. "…a scientist?"

"Criminalist, actually," Sara answered matter-of-factly, "and I was just dropping off some paperwork. I work mostly out of the crime lab down the street. I never expected to run into you here…" She was beginning to ramble, something she often did when she was nervous.

"Yeah, well I guess that's what happens when your car gets stolen. My wife convinced me to come down and file the report today."

Sara was sure her mouth fell open at that revelation. There was the second slap in the face in such a short conversation. Not only had she had a one night stand, which resulted in her surprising pregnancy, but she was now standing in front of the man, unable to tell him that it was his, and the icing on the cake was that he had been married at the time. Sara suddenly felt very sick.

He quickly fumbled for an answer. "No, Sara…we were separated, when you and I…it was only a couple of weeks ago that we reconciled."

"I should really be getting back to the lab, uh, good luck with getting your car back."

Sara refused to let him see her cry, so she didn't even turn around when he called, "Congratulations again."

She fought hard to maintain her composure throughout the drive back to lab; all she needed was to start crying so hard that she wound up in an accident. As soon as she got back from PD, she headed towards the bathroom, figuring it was the only place in the lab where she could cry without interruption. She didn't count on running into Greg on the way.

"Hey Sara," he called cheerfully, "What do you say we play hooky for a little bit, I found Hodges secret stash of Ben and Jerry's in the back of the freezer."

Sara opened her mouth to respond, but choked on a sob, bursting into tears in the middle of the hallway. Greg looked at her, concerned, and then rushed to her side, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into the nearest empty room.

"Sara, what's wrong?" Greg asked, settling her into a chair before pulling one over for himself.

"Oh Greg…" she sobbed, letting the entire story spill out, everything from her fight with Nick to her run in with Michael at PD.

"Wow," was all Greg could respond with, letting her sniffle on his shoulder. "So he was really there, huh?"

"In the flesh…"

"Really?" Greg raised an eyebrow. "Walking around naked in the Las Vegas Police Department? What did Brass say?"

"Greg…" Sara groaned, but she couldn't help but smile the tiniest bit.

"I'm gonna go tell Gris that you're not feeling well, and then I'll take you home, okay?"

Sara nodded and lifted her head off of his shoulder, sniffling one last time before wiping at her eyes. "I'll meet you in the locker room in a couple minutes?"

Greg dropped a kiss on the top of her head and stood up. As he left the room, Sara tried to get her breathing under control. Right now, she just wanted to go home, crawl underneath the covers, and stay there until she went into labor. When she felt ready, she pushed herself out of the chair and walked down to the locker room, trying to ignore the stares from passersby; she knew she must look like a mess.

Sara gathered the few things she needed from her locker, and dropped down onto the bench, resting one hand on the bench to brace herself, and the other on her abdomen. She was wondering why she just hadn't told Greg to meet her at the car, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around, expecting to find Greg, and surprised to find Nick behind her.

"I ran into Greg in the hallway…he told me what happened," Nick whispered, rubbing her back soothingly.

"I'm going to kill him," Sara replied, but her voice was devoid of the anger usually associated with those words.

"It wasn't his fault…I heard him tell Grissom you weren't feeling well, and I made him tell me what was wrong. If it makes you feel any better, I had to practically beat it out of him."

Sara smiled faintly and sighed. "I…I'm sorry…" She started to sniffle again, amazed by how easily they were able to put the past few weeks aside.

"Hey, none of that, okay?"

"But…we fought, and things have been so bad…"

"Let's just go home, c'mon." Sara allowed Nick to help her up and guide her out the door.

As Nick walked her out to his car, he pulled Sara close, and she couldn't help but feel safe. It felt good to be in Nick's arms again, and it was a feeling that Sara realized she didn't want to live without anymore.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: see first chapter

A/N: So I guess this is the chapter that everyone has been waiting for. It consists of equal parts angst and fluff, so hopefully that means it's not drowning in either. Enjoy, and as always, please review!

* * *

The car ride back to Sara's was quiet, but different than the last time they had ridden together; the tension that had been present in the vehicle for weeks was missing. Nick hadn't even turned on the radio, opting instead to envelop Sara's hand in his, rubbing her hand with his thumb ever so often in a comforting gesture.

By the time that Nick pulled into her driveway, Sara was so tired; all she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and fall into a dreamless sleep.

"Do you want me to make something to eat?" Nick asked as he unlocked her door and guided her inside.

"I just want to lie down for awhile," she replied softly, making her way towards her bedroom.

"I'll have something ready when you get up then." Nick pushed her gently towards her door, but Sara grabbed his hand.

As she turned to face him, she whispered, "Stay with me instead?" She felt Nick's gaze on her as he searched her face.

"Are you sure?"

Sara nodded and pulled him in after her. They both kicked off their shoes and collapsed onto the unmade bed, fully clothed. Nick reached down to pull the comforter over them as Sara tried to make herself comfortable. Before long, both of them were asleep.

When Sara woke up several hours later, she felt the distinct sensation of something, or rather, someone pressed up against her back. With a sigh, she realized that it was Nick, and somewhere during their nap, he had ended up spooned behind her, his arm resting lightly on her hip. With a pang of sadness, she realized how much she'd give to wake up in this same position every morning, and with the jumble of emotions still over running her system, she found herself crying again. She inched away from Nick slowly, trying to bury her face in the pillow and muffle the sound of her tears. Still, Nick sensed the loss of contact, and pulled her back towards him. It took him a minute to register the fact that she was crying, but when he did, he began to gently rub her back.

His voice was still laced with sleep as he murmured, "Baby, what's wrong?"

"I've just messed everything up," she sobbed, briefly lifting her head from the pillow before dropping it back down.

"How's that darlin?" The soothing circular motions he was making across her back were comforting her a little, but she still couldn't stop the tears.

"You and me…Michael…everything…"

Nick finally sounded awake. "Wait just a minute. Things have been a little tense lately, but don't worry about us, okay? I told you I wasn't going anywhere, and I'm not. Who's Michael?"

Sara turned around, awkwardly, to face Nick She focused her gaze somewhere on his chest, refusing to meet his concerned eyes. He wrapped an arm around her, mindful of her bulging belly.

"I ran into him today at PD…" Nick nodded in understanding, encouraging her to continue. "I…I lied to him Nick. I told him the baby wasn't his."

Nick sighed. "Why did you do that?"

"I panicked," she sniffled, "He had this…deer caught in headlights look when he realized I was pregnant, and…I just panicked. Told him I was a month further along then I really am. But the relief that crossed his face…I felt like all the breath was kicked out of me. I know I didn't have any right, but I just felt sick. He actually said, 'Thank God.' He didn't mean for me to hear it…but then he said that it wasn't a good time for him…like it was a good time for me to get pregnant."

Nick smoothed back a piece of hair from her forehead. "I'm sorry Sara…"

"Oh that's not even the worst part. Nick, he was married. I didn't know, or I would have never…he said they were separated, but he was still married…"

"Oh Sara," Nick murmured as she began to cry again. He held her as she sobbed, waiting to ride out the storm of tears. When she finally calmed down enough to be aware of her surroundings, Nick spoke again. "Sweetheart, I wish I could change the way he treated you…but you can fix your part in this, you can still tell him the truth. Yeah it's gonna be hard, but you can do it…you're so strong Sara."

Nick smiled down at her, wiping away a few of the tears before kissing her forehead. Sara could see the warmth and adoration radiating from his eyes, and it gave her courage.

"You were right Nick…I should have listened to you in the first place."

"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting to hear those words pass your lips? Is there any way I can get that in writing?" Nick teased, eliciting a small smile and a smack on the arm. "Seriously Sara…I have to admit, my motives weren't entirely pure."

Sara adjusted herself slightly in his arms and gave him a questioning look, asking him to clarify. "Sara…I think you know how I feel about you, and I know that you feel what's going on between us. You may not be ready to act on it, but you can feel it. No, its okay," he explained. Sara looked at him with wide eyes, opening her mouth to tell him he was wrong, but Nick silenced her gently with a finger to her lips and a watery smile.

"I just want things to be abundantly clear from the start. I want us to be a family Sara. I want to be her dad…watch her take her first step, chase the monsters out from under her bed. I want to lie here like this, exhausted from noon feedings, and watch you sleep." His smiled at her nervously, caressing the curve of her hip before placing his hand over her abdomen. "I want to give her a brother or sister someday. But…what if Michael figures it out? And he comes along in a couple of years, suddenly wanting a place in her life? We can't do this with that hanging over us for the rest of our lives."

Silence descended over them as Sara tried to process all of the information she had just received. On some level, she had already known most of what Nick had just told her, but to hear him say it, meant more to Sara than anything else at that moment. Nick rested his hand on her abdomen for another minute or so, and then brought it up to her face to stroke her cheek. It was only then that Sara realized she was crying again.

"Sara, shh…baby, don't cry."

Sara let out a nervous laugh. "You tell me…all of that, and you expect me not to cry?"

Nick cracked a smile at her. "Okay, fair enough." They lay together quietly for awhile, Nick rubbing her back sporadically. Sara watched him, his eyes closed, as she focused on the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. She knew what she had to do; what she wanted to do.

"I'm going to tell him the truth," she whispered softly, gently grazing his face with her fingertips to get his attention.

"Is that what you want to do?"

Sara smirked lightly. "Trying to backpedal now, are you?"

"I just don't want to push you to do anything you don't want to do."

"I want to," Sara replied firmly. And she did; not only did he deserve to know, but Sara wanted a future with Nick. She couldn't control what Michael would choose to do with the information, but Nick was right; they couldn't live a lie like that.

Finding words inadequate at the moment, Sara went for a more direct approach. She leaned forward, brushing her lips against his gently. Nick responded fully, reaching up to cup her face and kissing her with a passion and intensity that Sara had never experienced before. The kiss began urgent, but soon Nick was distracting her with long, slow, mind numbing kisses. Sara only reluctantly pulled away when the need for air began to outweigh the pleasure of having Nick's soft lips on hers.

She beamed up at him, his smile matching hers for wattage, and then snuggled in next to him as best as she could, knowing that she had successfully conveyed her feelings about him. She laid her head against his chest, sighing in contentment. She would have been happy just to lie there in silence, savoring the feeling of Nick's arms around her, but Nick chose that moment to speak.

"You wanted to tell me something awhile ago…"

Sara quirked an eyebrow, running her hand over the toned plains of his stomach, thankful for the thin material of his shirt. "I've wanted to say lots of things to you lately…and some of those were probably better left in my head. You're going to have to be a little more specific."

"That night, when you made dinner…you said you wanted to tell me something. But then, well, you weren't really talking to me too much for the next couple days, and then I kind of forgot."

Sara started to giggle. "You know, I was going to tell you that night that I was ready to hear it."

Nick groaned when her meaning sunk in. "I screwed that up, didn't I? Well, at least we've got that cleared up."

"You still haven't said it," Sara only half teased. Nick had done a lot to convince Sara of his feelings for her, but she still wanted to hear him say it.

"Neither have you," Nick shot back with a smile, kissing the crown of her head.

"Nick," she whined, eliciting a chuckle, "I've had a really bad day."

Sara felt his hot breath tickle her ear right before he whispered, "I really loved that shirt you were wearing, the blue one. Very flattering." After a rather painful punch in the side, Nick stopped smirking and continued. "Alright, seriously…I'm completely in love with you Sara." The emotion in his voice caused Sara to tear up slightly as he tightened his arms around her. "I think, on some level, I've been falling in love with you since the day we met."

Sara looked up at him, unable to wipe the smile from her face even as her eyes glistened with tears. "I'm completely in love with you too Nick."


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: see first chapter

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" Nick asked tentatively, pulling Sara towards him into a hug.

"Well, it's a little late to be wondering that now, isn't it?" she laughed nervously, burying her head into his chest for a moment. She tried to pretend that they weren't standing in a parking lot to some greasy diner, that instead they were in the middle of her living room, or a park, or anywhere else; it didn't work.

"I'll go in with you if you want me too."

Sara faintly smiled, before lifting her head and planting a small kiss on Nick's lips. She felt his arms tighten around her, making her feel safe and secure. She was so tempted to say yes, but she knew she had to do this herself.

"No," she sighed, reluctantly pulling away from him. "I have to do this…"

"Well, I'll be right out here if you need me, okay?" Nick tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and leaned down for one more kiss. A few minutes later, he pulled back, kissing her forehead and whispering, "Whatever happens in there…I love you Sara."

"I love you too," she whispered back, allowing herself to lean against him for another minute before pulling away and walking towards the diner.

It had taken Sara a week to gather the courage to call Michael, and another week for them both to find the time to meet. He sounded surprised to be hearing from her, and had suggested a diner near his work, agreeing to meet her for lunch towards the end of the week. Sara had been on pins and needles ever since, wondering how Michael was going to take the news, and what sort of repercussions the revelation was going to have on their futures.

She took a deep breath and stepped through the door, looking around. She spotted Michael at a table in the corner, looking as nervous as she felt. She walked as quickly as her current condition allowed, plastering a smile on her face as she arrived at the table.

"Sara," he greeted her, jumping up to pull out the chair across from him. Sara awkwardly sat down and waited for Michael to sink back down in his chair. He had an identical smile plastered on his own face as the waitress came over to take their order. He quickly ordered some coffee and a sandwich, while Sara only asked for water.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, staring at each other. Sara opened her mouth a few times to speak, but Michael finally beat her to it.

"Look Sara…I know why you called me…"

"You do?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I mean…I think a part of me knew it, even when you told me no. It was just easier to believe you."

"I'm sorry I lied to you," she replied quietly, gazing at the napkin she was shredding in front of her, not quite knowing what else to say.

"It's okay. I think I needed some time for it to sink in, and the police station probably wouldn't have been the best place to discuss it. And now I've had time to think it over, and I guess my question is…what do you want?"

Sara's eyes snapped up in anger, but before she could tell him exactly what she wanted from him, as well as where he could go, Michael held up his hands in surrender.

"No Sara…that came out wrong," he explained quickly, "I'm sorry…this has just thrown me for a loop. What I meant, is that I'm not sure exactly what kind of involvement you want from me…"

"I thought that you should know," Sara replied, her voice a little cool, as she was still recovering from their last exchange, "I don't expect anything from you. How much, or little you want to be in this child's life is up to you."

They were interrupted by the waitress coming back, setting a cup of water in front of Sara and pouring coffee into Michael's cup. Michael sighed, tapping his fingers nervously on the table before stirring in two sugar packets. "Okay, this is probably going to come out wrong to, but…were you telling the truth, before…there's a guy?"

Sara thought about snapping back a reply, but realized that it probably wasn't in her best interest. She took a deep breath. "Yes…there is somebody."

"And he knows about, well, all of this?" he asked, gesturing between the two of them.

"He knows everything. In fact…he's the one that convinced me to talk to you."

Michael paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "He loves you?"

Sara couldn't help but smile softly. "Both of us. More than anything."

Michael sighed again. "Sara…this is gonna sound awful, but I've finally worked things out with Susan…my wife. I'm happy with the way my life is right now, and it sounds like you have someone that can take care of you both a lot better than I ever could. I'm sorry, but…"

"No, it's okay," Sara interrupted, her voice much gentler than before. And she meant it; her daughter would be surrounded by so much love that it wouldn't matter that Michael wasn't a part of that. At least she had given him the option.

"If the baby ever needs anything, let me know…" Michael trailed off.

"She. She's a girl."

He smiled. "Well if she ever needs anything, I'll certainly make sure she gets it…but it sounds like she's already got a dad."

Sara nodded and sat silent for a minute, realizing that there was really nothing else to say.

"I guess I should be going," Sara finally announced softly. Michael jumped up and helped her out of her chair. He walked her to the door, holding it open as Sara walked out into the bright Nevada afternoon. She spotted Nick sitting on the grill of his car, hands shoved in his pockets and staring off into space. She couldn't help a tiny smile as she turned back towards Michael.

"Is that the guy?" Michael asked, and Sara couldn't help but notice that he gave Nick the once over.

"Yeah, that's Nick."

"And he treats you alright?"

Sara glanced at Nick again, feeling her smile widen as she answered. "He'd give me the world if he could."

Michael seemed satisfied by the answer. "Well, I'll let you get back to him then. Good luck with everything. And Sara…I'm sorry. About everything."

"It's okay, really."

Sara was walking back towards the car when she heard Michael call her name softly. Turning around, he was leaning nervously against the door.

"Do you think…I mean, maybe from time to time, could you send me a picture or something?"

Sara smiled, nodding at him before she turned back around and met Nick at the car. He was still staring into space, and jumped a little when Sara placed a hand on his shoulder. When he saw her, he smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, didn't hear you comin' Sar. How did it go."

She smiled sadly. "Well, I didn't have to tell him, he kind of figured it out on his own. He, uh…well, he said that he'd help out if we needed it, but he doesn't really want…" Sara trailed out, surprised at the tears welling in her eyes. "God, this is what I wanted, but I guess part of me still wished…"

"Hey, it's okay," Nick soothed, standing up and pulling her towards him. "It sucks that he doesn't want to be a part of her life. But she has so many other people to love her. I don't understand how he could not want to be a part of his child's life, but you know what?"

"It's his loss?" she sniffled, looking up into Nick's eyes. He rubbed her back reassuringly. She drew comfort from his presence, the steadiness of his hand rubbing circles between her shoulder blades. "You know, you're right. She's going to have you, that's more than any kid could ask for."

Sara leaned her cheek against his chest, breathing in the scent of his aftershave and trying to stem the flow of her tears. Nick's hand reached up to stroke her hair as he murmured. "I love you Sara, both of you, more than I could ever tell you. I'm gonna do my best to do right by both of you." Sara heard the hitch in his voice, only causing her tears to overflow again.

"You already have," she whispered, gazing up at him before brushing her lips against his. She snaked her arms around his neck, toying with the hair at the nape of his neck as Nick deepened the kiss. One of Nick's hands was tangled in her hair, while the other one trailed up and down her back.

"Maybe I should take you home," Nick murmured as he briefly pulled away. He captured her lips again, giving Sara no time to respond. Not that she wanted to; at that moment, all that mattered to her were Nick's lips connecting her to him.

Finally, when the need for air became a problem, Nick pulled away breathlessly. "What do you say we get out of here?"

Sara grinned, planting one more quick kiss on his lips. "Yeah, we should go home."

Sara allowed Nick to help her into the car before he ran around to get into the drivers' seat. She still felt a pang of sadness, but she also felt an immense sense of relief that things were finally resolved with Michael. He may not want anything to do with the baby, but Sara knew that Nick would more than make up for that. And knowing that Nick would always be there made her smile. Nick started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot as Sara reached over and took one of his hands, entwining their fingers. They would be a family, and that would be more than enough.

* * *

A/N: Since I'm on vacation this week, the next chapter should be posted in a few days. And as always, let me know what you think by reviewing! 


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: see first chapter

A/N: Sara is at 34 weeks by this chapter

* * *

Sara groaned as she very slowly lowered herself to the couch. "I'm going to be pregnant forever," she grumbled. 

"I offered to help, but you didn't want to," Nick replied, waggling his eyebrows suggestively as he settled down next to her. "Hey, it's a valid way to try and induce labor. Granted there are a few more weeks before we have to worry about that, but I'm always up for practicing…"

Sara rolled her eyes as she reached over to smack him on the arm. But as Nick pulled her towards him and flipped on the television, she began to feel pangs of guilt. Over the past couple of weeks, Sara had only gotten bigger and more irritable. It was awkward for her to move around much, and she longed for the days when she would be able to tie her own shoes again. Plus, as much as she would deny it to Nick, Catherine, and anyone else who asked, she was becoming very anxious about giving birth. She could read books, watch videos, and listen to Catherine and her doctor talk about it, but Sara realized that no second hand account was going to prepare her for the experience. Nick promised early on in her pregnancy to be her Lamaze coach, and it comforted her somewhat to know that he would be there, but she was still anxious.

So now she was stuck between being sick of being pregnant, and being terrified of giving birth; that combination served to make her particularly irritable to all around her, and she knew that Nick got the worst of it. He had slowly been moving things from his house to her new house and trying to get everything settled before the baby arrived. They had never really discussed what the next step in their relationship was going to be, but Sara figured that Nick was just giving her time until after the baby was born. Overall, he had been great, as usual, not pushing anything, and Sara had been feeling guilty about the way she was treating him.

"Nick?"

"Yeah babe?" he answered, obviously distracted by the Rangers game he had finally settled on.

"It's not that I don't want to…"

"Don't want to what?" His gaze had yet to leave the television.

Sara was becoming irritated. Here she was trying to explain, and he wasn't even paying attention. "Nick…"

He finally tore his eyes away from the television and looked at her. Noticing the look on her face, he smiled sheepishly and leaned over to kiss her.

"I'm sorry, I'm listening now, promise."

Sara sighed and rested her head on his shoulder as he played with the ends of her hair. "I said, it's not that I don't want to…it's just that when it happens, I mean, when we…I want it to be good, I don't want to be the size of Russia," she admitted, sighing in frustration.

"Baby, I was just teasing you before. First off, I have no doubt that it will be good, whenever it happens, and secondly, you are not the size of Russia," Nick replied, pulling her closer and planting a quick kiss to her temple.

"I'm huge, and my feet are swollen, and my back hurts, I've got heartburn all the time…I want to feel sexy, not like a complete mess." By the time Sara reached the end of her tirade, she was sniffling despite herself.

Nick wrapped both arms around her, pulling her into his embrace. "Hey, hey, there's no rush on this, okay? I'm not gonna lie, and say I don't want to make love to you, but I want you to be comfortable, and relaxed when we do. Now, I'm sure we could find ways around this," he added, placing a hand on her bulging abdomen and eliciting a small smile from Sara, "but I want you to thoroughly enjoy the experience…I can wait."

Sara was letting her insecurities get the best of her. "Nick, it's just that…it could be awhile. I mean, I've still got six weeks to go, and then it's at least another six weeks after that…"

"Hey," Nick replied firmly, "what part of 'not going anywhere' can't penetrate that thick skull of yours, huh?" He punctuated his statement by placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"But it's not fair to you…" she protested weakly.

"Baby, I've gone five years and managed not to ravage you. I think I can't wait another few months, hard as it might be. Now, if she turns three and we're still not having sex, we may have to revisit the issue," Nick teased, trying to relieve the tension. Sara cracked a smile as Nick's hand absentmindedly traveled across her abdomen. The baby had been active for the past several hours, and Sara could feel her kicking against Nick's hand. Sara settled in, closing her eyes; sometimes she thought that Nick could spend hours with his hand against her abdomen, coaxing the baby to kick for him.

A sharp pain caused Sara to gasp and suck in a breath, her hand immediately going to abdomen. Nick looked up at her with concerned eyes. "What's wrong?"

Sara took a few seconds to catch her breath, placing her hand on top of his; she could tell he was starting to freak out. "No, it's okay…nothing like a heel in the ribs. Knocked the wind right out of me."

Nick looked her over, and Sara knew he was trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. "Nick, trust me, when I go into labor, you'll know. She's just a little active right now."

"You're sure you feel okay? You look pretty tired…"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm eight and a half months pregnant…of course I'm tired. But I swear that nothing's wrong."

Nick looked doubtful. "I could call in tonight, stay home with you…" Last week, Grissom had strongly suggested that Sara use some of her banked vacation time in order to get some rest and prepare for the arrival of the baby. It had become so awkward for Sara to move around the lab, that she had actually agreed without fighting Nick and Grissom on it.

"No you can't, Catherine's off tonight," she reminded him. "And we're going shopping for some last minute stuff tonight, so you don't have to worry." One perk of living in Vegas was being able to shop for almost anything past midnight. Sara never thought she would be thankful for twenty four hour superstores.

"Yeah right," Nick scoffed affectionately, tucking an errant piece of hair behind her ear.

"I'll always worry about you…just don't overdo it okay?"

Sara nodded and kissed him gently. "I love you," she whispered softly, trailing her fingertips across the sides of his face.

Nick grinned back at her. "I love you too." He leaned down, placing a kiss on her abdomen. "And I love you too, little one. But no more kicking Mommy in the ribs, okay?"

He stood up, stretching, and kissed Sara one more time. "I'll call you on my break. And if you start not feeling well, or…well, just call me, okay?"

"I will," she promised, trying to adjust herself on the couch now that Nick was gone. She heard the door shut, and then lock behind Nick.

"What do you say we go figure out what we need before Aunt Catherine gets here?" she asked out loud, trying to push herself up off of the couch. Many attempts later, she was on her feet, albeit a little unsteady with the change in her center of gravity.

She was on her way back to the nursery when she heard the knock on the door. Sara knew she was a sight to be laughed at, turning around in the narrow hallway and waddling back to the front of the house.

Catherine greeted her at the door. "Wow, that was faster than I expected."

Sara glared. "Funny. Let me just grab my bag, and we can go." She turned around, realizing that she'd made so many lists over the past few weeks, that she could just use those to get what she needed. She grabbed her purse and was heading back for the door, when a sudden tightness in her abdomen stopped her cold. She couldn't exactly say it was painful, but it was definitely an uncomfortable sensation. It didn't help, that right at that moment, she felt another heel dig into her side, causing her to take in another sharp breath

Catherine noticed the bewildered, pained expression on her face and crossed the room in two steps, a feat for her small frame.

"I, uh…I just need a minute. Maybe I should sit down…" Catherine helped her over to the couch, where Sara sank down as fast as she could.

"Okay Sara, where does it hurt? How do you feel?" Catherine asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

"I don't know how it feels exactly, but it doesn't…oh wait, yes it does," Sara replied, gritting her teeth. Now it definitely hurt.

"I think we should get you to the hospital."

"No, it'll pass." Sara's voice had an edge of panic to it. "Just give me a min…" She trailed off as her abdomen tightened again.

"Sara, I think you're having contractions. We need to get to the hospital, okay." The tone of Catherine's voice told Sara it was not a question.

Sara was desperately trying not to cry. "But I've still got six more weeks."

"I know," Catherine replied gently, "that's why we're gonna get it checked out."

* * *

Nick came barreling into the hospital room, causing Sara to open her eyes in surprise. 

"How are…what…are you okay?" he gasped, striding to the bed and cupping the side of her face with his hand.

"Nick, calm down. I'm okay…we're okay. Where's Catherine?"

Nick sounded completely breathless. "She's out with Warrick. Sara, what the hell happened. You said you were feeling okay."

"I thought I was…I swear, I thought it was just the baby being active. When Catherine came over, I started to feel a little uncomfortable, like a tight feeling, and then I had this pain…I was having some contractions…"

"Contractions? Did the doctors stop them?"

Sara grabbed his hand. He was still in full on panic mode, and she had to diffuse the situation. "Braxton Hick's contractions," she corrected. "The doctor says they are completely normal at this point."

"But they aren't supposed to hurt, right? Are they sure you're not in labor? I want to talk to the doctor…"

A knock at the door interrupted Nick's near panic attack. Looking up, Sara noticed the doctor that had examined her earlier, Dr. Manzanar, standing in the doorway. She was a slight woman, mid-forties, with a warm smile and a friendly face. She had definitely been able to calm Sara with her demeanor when Sara was brought into the hospital, and Sara had to admit she had good timing, showing up right when Nick started to panic. The doctor shot both of them a smile before consulting Sara's chart and stepping through the doorway. Nick sunk down into the chair next to Sara's bed, still grasping her hand, and looked up at the doctor anxiously.

"How are you feeling now, Sara?" Dr. Manzanar asked, coming around the bed to check Sara's pulse.

"Better now…I haven't felt any of the contractions in awhile."

The doctor let go of Sara's wrist and jotted something down on the chart. "That's good."

"Doctor, what happened? Is everything alright?" Nick asked, the nervousness evident in his voice.

"Your wife and the baby are just fine." Neither Nick or Sara corrected the doctor as Nick breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Sara was experiencing some Braxton Hicks contractions. They are perfectly normal at this point in pregnancy. The contractions are just her body's way of getting ready for labor, though sometimes they can be caused by dehydration, so we've got her hooked up to an IV. She's not in active labor right now, but we would like to keep her for observation until morning."

Nick had visibly relaxed as Dr. Manzanar explained what had happened. Sara watched his brow un-furrow, and the death grip he held on her hand loosened. She had already heard the explanation, and while she wasn't happy about staying overnight for observation, she supposed it was better than the alternative.

"Sara, when was your last appointment with your obstetrician?" Dr. Manzanar asked, turning her attention back to the expectant mother.

Sara thought for a moment, and then turned to Nick for confirmation. He held up one finger. "About a week ago."

"And were you dilated at all at that point?" Sara shook her head. "Well, I'm going to note in your chart, that you've dilated one centimeter, and I'd like you to make an appointment to see your regular doctor as soon as possible."

Nick's face began to register panic again, and Sara was feeling a little nervous herself, but Dr. Manzanar clarified. "As I said before, everything looks fine, I'd just like to be on the safe side. It could take you weeks to fully dilate, but I think your doctor would like to see you and assess the situation. Sara nodded and squeezed Nick's hand. "Now, on a scale of one to ten, how would you rate the pain in your abdomen?"

"It's about a one," Sara replied.

"And is it constant or intermittent."

"Intermittent."

"Alright then, that's good. You rated it at a six when you came in, so it seems like you're feeling better, but we'd still like to keep an eye on you for a few hours."

Nick looked perplexed. "I thought I read somewhere that Braxton Hick's contractions aren't supposed to be painful. Are you sure she's not in labor?"

The doctor smiled at Nick. "We're sure. The pain Sara is feeling is from the stretching of the ligaments in her abdomen. When that occurs at the same time as the Braxton Hick's contractions, it can sometimes be mistaken for labor pains. But I assure you that everything is fine. Now, I've got to go check on some other patients, you should get some rest, I'll be back to check on you in a little while."

Nick and Sara mumbled their thanks as Dr. Manzanar exited the room, closing the door behind her. Nick turned his attention to Sara, leaning forward and kissing her knuckles.

"You had me some kind of terrified," he whispered hoarsely, "I saw Catherine on the Caller ID, and then when she said she had to take you to the hospital…all I could think of was, how much I love you, and what if something happened. I don't know what I would do if something happened to either of you…"

"Hey," Sara commanded gently, trying to fight her own tears, "we're not going anywhere either. Everything is okay, we're just a little freaked out because it's so early." Sara's reassurance was just as much for her own benefit, as it was for Nick's. She had been terrified when she thought she was going into labor, knowing that she still had a few weeks before she was full term. Everything Sara had learned about premature labor flew out of her head, and all she had been able to think about was, what if her little girl wasn't ready?

Sara sniffled, causing Nick to rise from his chair and situate himself next to her on the bed, pulling her close to him so she could lay her head against his side. "Let's just hope that next time we're here, we get to come home with a baby…"

"That would be nice," Sara said wistfully, "I don't think I can take anymore false labor." Sara unsuccessfully tried to suppress a yawn; it had been a long night for her. Nick reached out and stroked her hair, lulling her into a more peaceful state.

"Sar?" Nick called out quietly a few minutes later, still stroking her hair. Even in her half asleep state, she couldn't miss the nervousness in his voice.

"Hmmm?" she responded sleepily, trying to open her eyes.

"When Warrick was driving me over here…I kept thinking about how much I love you…"

"So you said…I love you too." She was trying so hard to stay awake.

Nick kissed the top of her head and took a deep breath. "I was wondering, once we get the baby settled at home, if you'd want to…I mean, I'd like to ask you…would you marry me?"

Sara's sharp intake of breath had nothing to do with a heel in her ribs this time. Tears welled in her eyes as Nick continued on.

"I don't want to pressure you into anything, and this definitely wasn't the way I pictured doing this…but I just needed you to know…"

"Yes," she whispered softly, tears spilling down her cheeks. Nick sighed in relief and a huge grin broke out across his face as he dipped his head down to kiss her. They traded gentle kisses for several minutes, until Nick finally pulled back reluctantly.

"You need to get some rest," he explained softly. Sara nodded as Nick resumed stroking her hair. As her eyelids fluttered shut, the last thing she remembered was the feel of Nick's hand on her abdomen, and him whispering the words, "I know we talked about kicking Mommy in the ribs, but now we've got to cover why it's not a good idea…"

* * *

Nick could feel how restless Sara was beside him. She was due any day now, and uncomfortable as hell. No matter what position she tried to sleep in, she just couldn't get comfortable for any length of time. He pushed a piece of hair out of her face as she muttered something incoherent in her sleep. Still, Nick couldn't help but smile at the beautiful form lying asleep next to him. 

Just as Nick was trying to fall back asleep, a noise next to the bed got his attention. Rolling over, he found three and a half year old Hannah Grace Stokes staring him in the face, clutching the teddy bear that Greg had given her for her first birthday.

"Hi Daddy," she whispered.

"Sweet pea, what are you doing out of bed?"

"Monsters in my room. Sleep wif you and Mommy?" But Hannah had already climbed up on the bed, and was in the process of crawling over Nick so that she could sleep between him and Sara.

It often startled Nick, exactly how much Hannah resembled Sara. She was a chestnut beauty, with wide eyes and a mess of long curls that Sara was forever trying to untangle. She had Sara's spitfire personality too, and her stubbornness was rivaled only by her sweetness. She could throw a tantrum with the best of them, but the second her wide eyes and smile fixated on someone, they were a goner. And she was a complete daddy's girl. Sara often teased Nick about how tightly Hannah had him wrapped around her little finger, to which he usually replied, with a grin, that the same could be said for his dear wife.

Right now, the angel in question had settled between them, digging her feet into Nick's side as she curled up against Sara and picked up a piece of her mother's hair to twirl between her fingers. Her teddy bear had landed up against Nick's pillow as she had climbed over.

"Where are the monsters sweet pea?"

Her voice was solemn. "Under da bed. They scawy, make funny noises."

"Well tomorrow, Daddy will go yell at them, and tell them they can't live in Hannah's room. But now we've gotta be quiet, okay?"

"Mommy and Baby Josh sleepin?"

Nick smiled. "Yeah, Mommy and Baby Josh are sleeping. And Daddy and Hannah should be asleep too."

"When Baby Josh come out?"

"He'll be here soon sweet pea."

"In da mornin?"

Nick chuckled as he leaned over to kiss her goodnight. "No, a little bit longer than that…but he'll be here soon."

"But I want to play with Baby Josh…" Nick knew that if this kept up much longer, then Sara would wake up, and it would be a very long night trying to get them all back to sleep.

"Hannah, Baby Josh won't be able to play with you for awhile. Now, it's time to go to sleep. When you wake up in the morning, you can help Daddy make chocolate chip pancakes, but we've got to go to sleep first."

"Pancakes?" Her voice was still a whisper, but Nick could tell she could barely contain her glee and the prospect of helping out in the kitchen. Hannah may have had Nick wrapped around her finger, but Nick also knew how to successfully distract his daughter.

"Yes, pancakes. But now it's time to close your eyes. Night sweet pea."

"Night Daddy," Hannah whispered, sitting up and planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek before curling back up next to Sara, jamming her feet into Nick's side again. Soon, she was lulling herself to sleep, twirling one of Sara's curls and sucking on her thumb.

Sara listened to all of this while trying to conceal the grin on her face. From the first time Hannah had been placed in Nick's arms, after twelve excruciatingly long hours of labor on Sara's part, he had been absolutely perfect with her. She and Nick had been married a few months later, and almost two and a half years after that, Sara surprised Nick on Father's Day with the news that Hannah was going to get that little sister or brother he had always wanted to give her.

Four years earlier, Sara would have never imagined that she would be lying in bed, her daughter curled up against her, with her husband's hand drifting over to touch her abdomen in his sleep, and another baby on the way. She was definitely uncomfortable, it was difficult to get into any position that wouldn't cause some discomfort, but she couldn't help but smile, thinking of the family that had come to her unexpectedly.

FIN.

* * *

A/N: Well folks, that's it. I never expected such a response for this story, and I was a little nervous attempting a multi chaptered fic. I'd like to thank everyone that stuck with me through this, your encouragement and reviews really meant a lot to me!

Claire: Not only have I updated, but I've FINISHED. So someone better get posting!

Sahariah: this is from a couple chapters back, but it was Catherine that was drinking the vodka and tonic, not Sara. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

Bookworm0485: Thanks for the suggestion for the baby's name, but I've had this one picked out pretty much since I started writing the story. I love the name though, and I'd like to use it for another story later on, if you don't mind.


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